Radical Healing Approaches For Black Maternal Health: A Critical Review

Abstract

Black birthing people are intrinsically valuable individuals, as well as members of families, organizations, communities, and society. Yet, gendered racism exposes them to unique sources of stress that can accelerate physiological aging, increase risk for adverse health conditions throughout the lifespan, and contribute to preventable morbidity and mortality risk during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. Existing research focuses on coping strategies Black birthing people can employ to alleviate the effects of stress from gendered racism. While efforts to provide immediate stress relief are essential, interventions to reduce gendered racism in Black birthing people's environments and prevent future stress exposures are necessary to eliminate persistent and severe maternal health disparities. This critical narrative literature review applies a psychological framework of radical healing (French et al., 2020) to explore the relationship between resistance strategies and factors associated with maternal health. Specifically, this paper synthesizes evidence about strategies to empower Black birthing people and their communities with strength to resist gendered racism at internalized, interpersonal, and institutional levels. It also explores opportunities for organizations and institutions to combat gendered racism and promote equitable maternal health outcomes. Implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.

Keywords: Empowerment; Gendered racism; Intersectionality; Maternal health; Radical healing; Strengths-based.