Achieving Joyful, Healthy Births for All

Everyone should have the safe, respectful, and dignified care and treatment they need to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. 

Allyson Felix (illustrated above)—the most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history—considers motherhood the most special job she’s ever had. 

The birth of a child should be a time of joy for every family. All parents deserve a beautiful, positive birthing experience that aligns with their values and needs. But this is not the case for many women in the United States—and especially for Black women. If we work together, we can make sure that all who give birth get the chance to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.

In this blog post, two powerful Black women—an Olympic gold medalist, and the other a nationally recognized physician on a mission to improve maternal outcomes—reflect on motherhood, maternal care, and how to shape a brighter future for Black birthing people and babies. Both women are featured in the new documentary, BIRTHING JUSTICE (supported in part through funding by RWJF), premiering nationally April 10 on PBS, kicking off Black Maternal Health Week.

Elevating Black mothers’ experiences

Eleven-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix considers motherhood the most special job she’s ever had. But her birth story is indicative of a wider Black maternal health crisis.

As an Olympic athlete who stayed fit throughout my pregnancy, I never expected to have a complicated pregnancy or birth. Then at 32 weeks, my doctor discovered that I had severe preeclampsia during a routine prenatal visit. Fortunately, my doctor acted quickly and likely saved my life and my daughter’s. But not all Black women—even those with the resources I have—are fortunate enough to get the care they need and deserve to have a joyful birth experience.

Far too frequently, a Black person’s pain or suffering is dismissed because of discrimination or implicit bias in our healthcare system. It cannot go on that way. For Black women and their infants to thrive, it’s crucial that doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals value and respect every birthing person’s experiences.

Restructuring our healthcare system

For Dr. Elaine Batchlor, a physician and chief executive officer of MLK Community Healthcare, access to quality, diverse healthcare is foundational to achieving birth justice.

My personal experiences as a Black woman shape my commitment to quality care in my health system. Access to the best possible care is a fundamental right. Offering it can be an act of social justice.

That means access to care at every stage of our lives. Women’s health during pregnancy is deeply connected to their health before and in between pregnancies. If you live in a community with limited access to medical care and are unable to see a doctor regularly, you are entering into pregnancy with increased risk. Women need comprehensive reproductive healthcare, from primary care through postpartum support, for healthy outcomes. We deserve to receive this care from providers who understand our needs. We deserve to enter pregnancy with anticipation, not trepidation.

America is the most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world—and pregnancy-related deaths are on the rise. The toll is not equally distributed: Black women are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than White women.

The Black maternal health crisis is rooted in systemic racism and its impacts—not individual choices on the part of the mother or family. Data from the CDC’s Maternity Mortality Review Committee found that a shocking 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable in 2017-2019, with the constellation of inadequate primary and specialty care, lack of access to services, and implicit bias and discrimination among healthcare providers contributing factors to this loss. Disparities exist across income and education lines.

As a physician one thing is clear to me: quality reproductive healthcare is fundamental to providing a healthy birth. Adequate provider payment will attract doctors to serve in communities like mine. Recruitment and training of a diverse healthcare workforce, from physicians to community-based perinatal support professionals, will ensure that all mothers are treated and cared for by someone who looks like them, understands their unique experiences, and prioritizes their preferences. It works for our babies too—physician-patient racial concordance improves health outcomes for both mothers and their infants.