The International Center for Traditional Childbearing, Inc. (ICTC) is a non-profit African-centered organization located in Portland, Oregon. ICTC was created to promote the health of women and their families and to train Black women aspiring to become midwives. The organization provides recruitment, education, and support to those desiring to serve their community.

The word “midwife” in many African languages is synonymous with spiritual healer. The Traditional Midwife’s calling expanded beyond catching babies; she was a healer, a spiritualist, a Public health activist and a community organizer.

Historically Black midwives have saved the lives of countless mothers and babies throughout the United States. Both free and enslaved Black midwives provided midwifery care not only to their communities but also to families outside of the Black community.

Sharon Robinson, critic and professor of midwifery and black health care systems, states in her 1984 study for the Journal of Nurse- Midwifery “that the first Black lay midwife came to America in 1619, bringing with her knowledge of health and healing based on her African background.”

According to March 23, 2010 article in the New York Times, nearly one in three children in the United States are born by Caesarean section. The rate has been climbing steadily since 1996, setting new records year after year, and Caesarean section has become the most common operation in American hospitals. About 1.4 million Caesareans were performed in 2007, the latest year for which data is available.