A number of our MCH students attended the 2021 Black Maternal Health Conference, hosted by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), April 16-17, online. What follows is a post from one of the attendees.
By Brianna Betton, BA
2020 was a year filled with surprises, zoom meetings, and a worldwide pandemic. COVID-19 has affected everyone’s lives— the pandemic has amplified health disparities and racial realities for Black people in the United States. Though the COVID-19 pandemic changed many facets of normal life, maternity care has also been impacted. Black birthing persons have been affected by the racial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and disparate rates of maternal mortality. My experience as a public health student and desire to combat maternal mortality motivated me to become a birth doula in December 2020.
During the Black Mamas Matter Alliance conference, I attended a session entitled “That’s why I never wanted a son, because I didn’t want to have to always be worried about his safety: Black women and birthing people’s experiences of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.” This particular session offered insight into how Black birthing people were feeling about infant safety, motherhood, and racism. It helped me to see just how birthing people are processing their continued exposure to racial discrimination within healthcare contexts. Black birthing persons expressed that they felt misunderstood and there was a lack of communication with their providers. As a doula, this discussion has challenged me in my work.
I hope that through advocating for fundamental birthing rights, centering reproductive justice, and policy changes, Black women can have better birthing experiences. In recognizing that Black women face social, political, and medical challenges as birthing people, I desire to help mediate some of these challenges through doula work. I aspire to become a doula who’s innovative, flexible, knowledgeable, and assertive. As my work continues to evolve, I will engage in these critical conversations that will inform my work. This session and many others during the conference continued to affirm that Black mamas matter.
Brianna Betton BA, is a second-year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in December 2021. Her interests include maternal health, health equity, and reproductive justice.
