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I was born into a misplaced South London Irish and Yorkshire family. So, I thought. A challenging family with lots of hidden secrets and stories. I took myself on an ancestry adventure - always taught to ‘know thyself, know thy Lord’. I’ve recently discovered Indigenous American ancestors, a Moorish West African grandfather, South Asian (no surprise for a traveller family), a huge lot of Scottish DNA and a big revelation of travellers in all directions. I travel the globe year long and feel so comfortable on the move, carrying on these ancestral traditions. My family had relocated on doctor’s orders to the seaside in Kent. I promptly returned home to the big city at 16. The UK hip hop and club scene was in full blossom and for several years we had the time of our lives at Soul to Soul, The Royal Opera House, illegal parties on the Circle Line and a full timetable of crime and naughty behaviour. Hip hop in its origin was not just music. It was a full culture of art, dance, activism, and teaching. Many of my circle became Muslim one by one, setting off all my radical feminist nerves no end. I began to read. I was already on a path to find a better understanding of life than I had found in my traumatised family. Looking for the keys to life, Islam had all the answers. As a very young woman I embraced Islam and walked forward as a Muslim.
Nicola Goodall
This radical life change came about pre-9/11 and 7/7, around the time of the Iran/Iraq war and I got a taste of just how hateful the UK public can be, right away. The first cut came before I declared I was Muslim. I had worn a headscarf to a meeting where they were teaching Qur’an. Someone assaulted me outside McDonalds in Marble Arch - completely unprovoked. That week a woman died from being pushed in front of a Tube for no other reason than being openly Muslim. Then the terrible events of 9/11 unfolded, and all hell broke loose for our community. At this point I lived in Edinburgh near a notorious estate, and it was a case of being unsafe both in and out of my home. Despite two small babies and an ever-expanding belly this did not seem to stop the behaviour of a small group of hateful folks. The police were no help at all. We were super vulnerable, forced to adjust my dress and relocate, which took a long time. Don’t believe this dialogue that Scotland is a peaceful place for those other than Scottish. Sometimes it is - oftentimes it is not.
Over this time of great vulnerability, meeting my four babies unbeknownst to me, I was gathering data. To be fed into my life's work of supporting women and their health. Not just their womb health but the family, the environment, and the community they live amongst. All impacting their womb health and the health of their babies. I had zero idea about the impact of trauma on the unborn or breastfeeding baby, on the womb. These days we have so much more data. Gabor Mate and Resmaa Menakem can help you to delve deeper.
Nicola, in her early days of embracing the hijab
What is a Doula?
Our Philosophy:
To nurture confidence in facilitating doula support. At Red Tent doulas, we believe there is a doula for everyone. We believe one of the most important aspects in doulaing is to create a community of support around each doula. This will nourish her drive to walk alongside others, giving her confidence and strength from a wealth of wisdom.
My older sister looked after me during my younger years. When I had my babies, she gave me the great learning of making sure there was something I still did for myself after the baby arrived. When my daughter reached two months, I went across the street to Adult Education massage classes once a week, for two hours. The baby cried with her daddy the whole time, but I knew this made me more peaceful and stronger for her the rest of the week and continued.
This path took me through so many learning paths - direct and indirect. Slowly it became clear that it was a traditional midwifery path, and I had the good fortune of being adopted by a phenomenal mother figure and traditional Muslim midwife, called Rifat Peggy Nafisa Brown. In debt to the lineage of the Grand Midwives of America and the local indigenous sisters, to the radical movement back to self-led women’s healthcare in the 6’s, 70s and 80s, to the traditional ways of Islamic medicine, and just her God-led beautiful self, I began to learn more and more. We now had the science coming through the 90s onwards - the impact of our obstetric practices and the trauma and bad health, and conversely the flourishing and good health of the old ways. Alongside the health education came the spiritual learning. After I welcomed my first daughter and before the arrival of my second, I spent many years in a religious seminary, developing my relationship with the Divine. Not just the esoteric but the practical also. You can be super holy and a terrible community member. Close to God but polluting the earth. I wanted this thread to weave all through my life.
On occasions we train Muslim doulas in an exclusive safe space of solely Muslim women, to discuss our challenges and our joys in a peaceful environment.
On occasions we train Muslim doulas in an exclusive safe space of solely Muslim women, to discuss our challenges and our joys in a peaceful environment. Our community remains under attack. The Invisible Report was released last year looking at the experience of Muslim parents in maternity services. No surprise to find the expected results of poor care, bad feeling, more ill health and risk. We are being demonised, receiving daily ill-feeling and racialised healthcare, suffering the Muslim critical mainstream media. We also joined forces with Mars Lord of Abuela Doulas to form our joint venture Abuelas Red Tent, offering Cultural Safety and Anti-Racism workshops to non-profit organisations and NHS trusts. We are creating more competency and safety. We are co-creating a space where folk are free to use traditional ways alongside clinical ways, to safely bring a baby into this world and this family. Not just with bodily integrity, but with their nervous system intact, with parents who were able to enjoy the whole experience, with no life-changing injuries to body or spirit, with celebration and nourishment. We are calling out bad practice clearly and making sure it's stamped out.
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