[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 37 (Friday, February 26, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING OLIVIA SAMPLES AS IOWAN OF THE WEEK

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                           HON. CYNTHIA AXNE

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 26, 2021

  Mrs. AXNE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding 
member of our community, Olivia Samples, by nominating her as our Iowan 
of the week. Olivia is a certified doula and small business owner, 
focused on providing quality services to families as they prepare for 
prenatal, childbirth and postnatal care. Three years ago, Olivia read 
an article about the maternal health crisis and felt a deep calling to 
put her skills to good use. While Iowa has amongst some of the lowest 
stillbirth rates in the country, Black people are twice as likely to 
experience stillbirth than the general population. To put that into 
perspective, 1 in 121 Black people will experience a stillbirth as 
compared to the 1 out of 234 white people. The mortality rate is 
unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to birthing and 
new parenting issues that face Iowa's Black community. These stats 
along with the lower quality prenatal care that was being provided to 
Black women in the community inspired Olivia to become Iowa's first 
Black doula.
  Olivia leads her business, Kismet Doula Services, with the mission to 
cultivate collective care and liberation to her clients through 
providing them a safe, loving environment to ensure they can become and 
remain healthy and well. Her services include prenatal, childbirth, 
lactation consultation and postnatal support for her clients. However, 
Olivia goes above and beyond for her clients, going as far as to help 
with laundry, prepare meals for them and secure funds for those who 
need assistance purchasing necessary items for postnatal care and 
parenthood. She strives to make sure her services are accessible to all 
by providing mutual aid options, free services through certain 
organizations and will even barter or trade with her clients.
  Beyond providing direct support to her clients, Olivia also organizes 
workshops and partners with several community organizations. In her 
first few years as a doula, she realized that the voices of new parents 
were missing when it came time to discuss legislation that would affect 
their well-being. As a result, Olivia organized the Celebration of 
Black Kin Conference for this April focusing on Black maternal well-
being in our community. Olivia also gives back to the community by 
partnering with the Young Women's Resource Center to provide free doula 
services as well as the Iowa Queer Communities of Color Coalition to 
ensure all types of families are able to receive the quality pre and 
postnatal services they deserve.
  Olivia jumps in headfirst to solve the problem and gives it her all. 
The success of her business and the high praise from her community 
reflect the significant impact she has had on the lives of pregnant 
people in Iowa. That's why I would like my colleagues to rise with me 
and recognize this exemplary woman, Olivia Samples, as Iowan of the 
Week.

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