It's Black Materbal Health Week! Founded by Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Black Maternal Health Week is a week of awareness, activism, and community-building aimed at amplifying the voices of Black Mamas, and centering the values and traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements. BMHW is held annually in April during National Minority Health Month. BMHW23 is, above all, a week dedicated to educating and advocating for Black Mamas.
I decided this would be a good week to share. I haven't really spoken as much about my homebirth as I do other things. I think I kept it a little quiet so that I wouldn't have to hear negative comments and remarks from others. But I am finally feeling comfortable to speak about it and sharing my birth story more.
As I transition into helping more mothers, my experience can help someone. I'll be sharing how I prepared & the things that helped me have a smooth delivery in a future blog post. But for now, we will talk about the why!
In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 3 times the rate for White women in the United States. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as lower quality healthcare, structural racism, and implicit bias from healthcare providers, and underlying chronic conditions. (Source: CDC)
There has been research that shows, doctors think black women can tolerate more pain than other races, and some of them don't take their concerns seriously... that is until it's too late.
On top of research, I've heard personal stories from friends who look like me. Stories of not getting the birthing experience they wanted, stories of being forced to make certain decisions that didn't need to be made so soon, and just stories of doctors ignoring their wishes.
I didn't want my story to happen that way. I wanted my provider to listen to my concerns and desires and honor them. I was afraid of a hospital birth. I was afraid of not being heard. I didn't want me or my baby to become another statitistic.
On top of that, I wanted to birth how I wanted. I wanted to be able to walk around, bounce on a birthing ball, and push in whatever position I wanted to. I didnt want someone dictating all of this. I also didn't want to be a time limit and doctors pushing pitocin or certain interventions before they were needed.
I figured at home, I could have the birth I pictured with the least interventions, with providers who I know would listen to me.
Now I did dual care. I had an at home midwife and a midwife at a hospital. I wanted them familiar with me, heaven forbid there was a complication and I had to be transferred to the hospital. If you listen to the podcast of my birth story, I talk more about dual care there.
Lastly, I thought it sounded so nice to be able to labor and deliver in the comfort of my own home. I loved the idea of given birth and then just being able to take a shower and go lay in my own bed and rest.
Oddly enough, I've always envisioned myself having a homebirth whenever I got pregnant, even before learning some of these things. I think it was always supposed to be apart of my story.
I made the decision that was best for me. I don't knock the decisions that other mothers make and just like to share, as some do not know all of their options.
It's sad that we need a Black Maternal Health Week, but I hope it educates people and brings light to the issues black and brown mamas deal with.
I look forward for the advancement and investment in practices and solutions that incorporate the true needs, wants and desires of Black women and birthing people. I hope that more hospitals become safe places for us. I know there are some providers that listen and don't have bias but there needs to be more.
You can contribute by helping The Black Mamas Matter Alliance reach their #BMHW23 fundraising goal of $50,000 at blackmamasmatter.org/donate Your investment helps BMMA to share the challenges impacting Black birthing people, celebrate innovation of Black-led models of holistic maternal and reproductive health care, as well as amplify the voices of Black Mamas to shift the narrative to center our joy, activism, and creativity.