Rainbow Baby Mom Launches Wellness App To Empower Women Of Color Facing Infertility

A new app aims to support and empower Black women facing infertility.

Meet Reniqua Allen-Lamphere, a two-time rainbow mom who turned her infertility journey into inspiration for launching a new app that supports women of color facing similar challenges.

Allen-Lamphere, an award-winning journalist and TV producer, recently launched Oshun Griot, a wellness platform explicitly designed for women of color. While many wellness apps cater to Black women, Oshun Griot fills a unique gap by supporting those navigating the often-overlooked emotional journey of fertility struggles and the desire to start a family.

It’s a journey Allen-Lamphere knows all too well, as she had her two children, son George, and daughter Charlie, in her early 40s after experiencing multiple miscarriages, making them her cherished rainbow babies, Essence reports. The author and scholar first faced signs of reproductive challenges at just 13, enduring intense period cramps later diagnosed as the result of grapefruit-sized fibroids and endometriosis.

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These conditions are prevalent among Black women, who experience fibroids at higher rates and with more severe symptoms than white women. Research also shows that Black women are more likely than white women to undergo hysterectomies and myomectomies to treat fibroids, and tend to have larger fibroids and face a higher risk of complications during these surgeries.

“I’ve been in hospitals often, and no one had any answers for me. I was given birth control pills way before I even started having sex, and when I was in my late 20s, I had a myomectomy for fibroids, like so many other Black women do, and was told I had endometriosis. It was the first time I’d even heard of the term endometriosis,” Allen-Lamphere told Essence.

Since fibroids are linked to fertility issues, Allen-Lamphere’s experience reflects a broader struggle, especially as 1 in 6 American families face infertility. A harsh reality that can often discourage a woman from wanting or trying to start a family.

“I just thought that everything was broken. I thought I was broken,” Allen-Lamphere said. “I felt like my uterus had long been broken, and it was continuing to fail me.”

After being told she was infertile while trying to start a family with her husband, Allen-Lamphere took matters into her own hands. She joined Facebook groups, downloaded fertility apps, interviewed doctors, and even began an unsuccessful IVF journey. Along the way, she noticed a lack of diversity in support spaces, which inspired her to launch Oshun Griot, the first infertility wellness platform specifically created for people of color, rooted in lived experiences and the belief that fertility journeys shouldn’t be faced alone.

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With a name inspired by African heritage, honoring Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility and love, and “griot,” the traditional African storyteller, Allen-Lamphere takes a bold and intentional approach in creating a wellness app centered on the experiences of Black women.

“I was inspired to name it that, because I realized that for so long, especially for Black and other communities of color, our stories of our fertility weren’t told in the way we would’ve wanted them to be; instead, it’s been controlled by other people,” she said. “This platform is designed to help us share our own stories, because they’re powerful. The Black family is important. Black children are so centrally important. However, the story of how we build our families is also important. And for too long, we have not been in control of our fertility, and it’s felt like it’s been in the hands of other people.”

Rooted in both medical insight and cultural traditions, Oshun Griot provides users expert directories, wellness trackers, and Q&As on topics like fibroids, medical bias, and healing practices. The app also features guided meditations, yoga, affirmations, and personal stories from people of color navigating fertility challenges, as well as resources for those supporting loved ones on the journey.

“In the political times we’re in, where we’re not sure if we can even access fertility care, it felt like a time when we needed something more,” Allen-Lamphere said.