Ọlọ́mọ Ló L'ayé
Embracing Tradition. Enhancing Care.
Ọlọ́mọ Ló L'ayé • A 501(c)(3) Global Maternal Health Organization • Reclaiming Our Birth Rights
Lineage • Healing • Reclamation • Authority
We are bridging ancestral spiritual midwifery and traditional healing modalities with modern healthcare systems to restore dignity, eliminate preventable birth complications, and honor the sacred continuum of life.
We aim to unite all birthing professionals across medical and traditional spectrums to bridge divides, foster cross-cultural learning, and preserve traditional birthing practices through compassionate, respectful, and culturally competent knowledge exchange and awareness.
Who We Are
Where Ideas Evolve Into Action
Our History
Ọlọ́mọ Ló L’ayé was founded by Sauleiha Akangbe, a fourth-generation birthworker, full-circle doula, traditional midwife (Agbẹ̀bí), and healthcare systems architect. Crowned as Ọ̀lọ́yè Yéyé Aláwòyè for her dedication to reproductive justice and traditional midwifery, her life’s work bridges the deep lineage practices of Nigeria with the African Diaspora, the Global South and institutional healthcare.
Carrying the generational legacy of her great-grandmother, Elizabeth J. Harris, Sauleiha has successfully integrated culturally affirming birth practices within leading hospital systems, pioneered the first hospital-integrated postpartum doula service in the United States, and trained birth professionals globally in ancestral Yorùbá care.
This unique synthesis of hospital systems architecture and unbroken traditional lineage forms the cornerstone of Ọlọ́mọ Ló L’ayé—identifying effective practices in both modern and traditional care without syncretism or compromise.
Ọ̀lọ́yè Yéyé Aláwòyè: Restoring hope, and ancestral healing one community at a time
Decolonizing the Perinatal Paradigm
Why Ọlọ́mọ Ló L’ayé
The impact of colonization has severely disrupted traditional birth practices, perpetuating systemic racism and rigid Western dogma. Globally, high maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rates persist, highlighting the urgent need for solutions rooted in cultural safety, reverence, and community autonomy.
Colonization has reduced birth to a mechanical, fear-driven event—promoting unnecessary cesarean sections, separating infants from their families, and treating birthing mothers without human dignity. We reject the false binary that forces families to choose between modern medical tools and ancestral wisdom. Our mission is to eliminate preventable birth trauma by placing traditional midwives back at the center of maternal wellness.
A Sacred Commitment
Our Vision & Principles
We envision a world where all birthing women, people, and their babies are safe. A world where birth professionals shift from fear-based practices to ones rooted in respect, reverence, honor, and humility. Where we honor the traditions, cultures, spiritual integrity and the innate wisdom of the individuals we serve, while honoring the sacred nature of Mother Earth, our professional work, and the knowledge we all hold. Our mission and vision are carried out through our services and programs.
The Traditional Midwife is the table
Traditional practitioners do not need to ask for a seat at the table; they are the bedrock upon which maternal care was built. We defend their right to practice under their ancestral titles without erasure, while honoring their practical wisdom: traditional midwives understand that their communities live in a changing world where modern medical backup is vital. They reserve the full right to utilize every life-saving resource in their communities without abandoning their culture, lineage, faith, or ancestral practices.
Respecting Vulnerability & Curiosity
A place at the table belongs to anyone who arrives with respect. While modern medicine often conflates academic degrees with total understanding, conscientious physicians understand that no single system knows it all. We meet their vulnerability and willingness to learn with deep honor—equipping clinicians to carry humility, reciprocal partnership, and expanded clinical skill back to the families they serve.
Protection of Sacred Knowledge
We protect the spiritual technologies, ancestral herbal remedies, and traditional diagnostic methods that have safely guided birth for millennia, defending them against corporate extraction and exploitation. Simultaneously, we inspire the next generation to reconnect with the ways of their ancestors—free from dogmatic barriers that push them away—recognizing that these living practices address the root causes of physical, emotional, and spiritual illness.
For, With, & By the People
Maternal health is communal health. We align with partners who share an uncompromising dedication to community self-determination— for the people, with the people, and by the people. Frameworks like the Kore Method promote practitioner liberation and expansive reproductive choice, while community models like Gremum’s Way revive the village, wrapping families in the intergenerational care of grandmothers, aunties, and community.
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Executive Leadership
Anchored in Washington State, USA, and Osun State, Nigeria, our officers lead global strategy and community accountability.
Chief Executive Officer/Founder
Sauleiha Ifashike Akangbe Ogun
Ọ̀lọ́yè Yéyé Aláwòyè Agbẹ̀bí
A healthcare systems architect, certified full-circle doula, traditional midwife, chief, and priestess with over 15 years of experience, Sauleiha is the founder of Ọlọ́mọ Ló L’ayé. Having pioneered hospital-integrated doula networks in the U.S., she now leads organizational clinical governance, cross-cultural curricula, community development initiatives, and global hospital alliances.
Chief Cultural & Development Officer
Adekunle Awosoji Akangbe Ogun
Head Babalawo & Cultural Governance Lead
Adekunle leads international program delegations, community relations, and lineage elder integration across West Africa. As Chief Cultural Officer and Head Spiritual Consultant, he ensures our global expansions uphold traditional Yorùbá protocol, ethical governance, and respectful ancestral partnerships while stewarding a dedicated, values-aligned community into our work.
Collaboration Is The Key To Success
Our Partners & Allies
We honor the cultural institutions, healing sanctuaries, and businesses committed to sponsoring our maternal health mission:
