COLUMBUS, Ohio —  A wife, mother of three and nurse of twelve years, Jatu Boikai has a passion for helping women of color have safe and healthy pregnancies. 

What You Need To Know

  • Studies show that women of color are dying due to pregnancy-related complications at a disproportionately high rate than white women due to disparities in the health care system

  • A Columbus labor and delivery nurse started a nonprofit organization called mOBinurses to help combat the issue by providing free virtual perinatal advocacy support services

  • mOBinurses was founded last May and currently has seven clients using their services

“One of the things that always strikes me is that every Black woman that I’ve ever encountered that’s had an experience with pregnancy, childbirth. We all have a story. And unfortunately, that’s not an exaggeration. Literally, all of us have a story,” said Founder and Executive Director of mOBinurses, Jatu Boikai. 

As a labor and delivery nurse, she sees firsthand the disparities in the health care system toward women of color. So, she took it upon herself to make a difference. 

“Just being in health care and leadership and seeing what we are able to do in the health care system, I just felt like I also needed to do something that I can truly put my hands on and say I’m making this tangible change,” said Boikai.

She started her nonprofit mOBinurses last May as a virtual doula service and currently has seven clients. Boikai tells said the name mOBinurses is a play on words with its original intent to be a tool for only her to conduct virtual private nursing sessions. But now she has a team. 

“mOBinurses is actually just a play on words. I am an OB nurse and so when I first started the organization, it was just going to be me. It wasn’t at that point, it wasn’t a 501(c) nonprofit,” said Boikai. 

Boikai said finding a provider who genuinely cares and understands what women of color are going through during their pregnancy is the key to success. 

“Align yourself and try to find a provider who understand what we’re facing, understand the disparities, understand the risks, understand that we’re dying and that something needs to be done,” said Boikai. 

And to also surround yourself with people who will advocate for you.

“Ensure that you have a village that, um, you know, if, if, if there are questions that you have, if, if, if there is something that you don’t understand. Arm yourself with people who are going to be able to ask those questions for you,” said Boikai. 

And mOBinurses is here to advocate for those who don’t have a village.