BA NIA Incorporated

BA NIA’s vision is to eliminate racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality among women of color. We seek a world where birthing people, women and girls make autonomous decisions about their own bodies and have access to reproductive health care without coercion and discrimination. We envision a world where Black birth workers have the local culturally- congruent and accessible training and mentoring needed to thrive.

BA NIA Inc began in the mid 1990s as a learning circle for Black women supporting each other through the journey of motherhood. Through years of study and practice, we began offering support to a wider circle of women throughout their life stages, including: adolescence, childbirth, and menopause. Today BA NIA Inc is a comprehensive reproductive rights organization providing an array of health services and education to nurture the whole woman, birthing person. child, and family.

Our work is deeply rooted for 30 years in the Englewood and Auburn Gresham neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. Our name, “BA NIA”, is taken from Kemet and Swahili languages, meaning Divine Purpose.