Black Maternal Health: a 360-Degree Look at Black Midwives

Dr. Kaytura Felix, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is leading the Black Birthing Futures study to examine how Black midwives address the maternal healthcare crisis through comprehensive, community-based care that extends beyond traditional medical approaches. After two decades studying health disparities, Felix shifted focus to investigate what the Black community itself was doing to combat the Black maternal mortality crisis, discovering that Black midwives provide holistic, family-centered care that considers social determinants of health including poverty, racism, and environmental factors. The research reveals that Black midwives offer extended postpartum visits, nutritional education, and emotional support that differs significantly from conventional fifteen-minute medical appointments, though they represent fewer than ten percent of the approximately 14,500 certified midwives in the United States.