Exploring Black Women’s Pathways to Motherhood Within a Reproductive Justice Framework

Abstract

Amidst the increasing push to address racial disparities in maternal health equity, fewer studies have considered Black women’s perspectives on their needs, concerns, and priorities regarding family planning care. Such evidence might help address the lack of support and information that many Black women report in patient–provider encounters, and broaden empirical knowledge on the contextual factors that influence Black women’s reproductive decisions. In the present qualitative study, we explored Black women’s pathways to motherhood within a reproductive justice framework. We drew on individual, semi-structured interview data from 31 Black mothers (25–50 years, Mage = 35 years) across the United States. Using consensual qualitative research methods, we elaborated on three themes: (1) intentional family planning, (2) unintended pregnancy, and (3) othermothering. The findings challenge deficit-based stereotypes of Black mothers’ reproductive choices and illuminate how health practitioners can facilitate humanizing conversations that prioritize Black women’s family planning goals and decision-making.

Reproductive decision-making of Black women living with HIV: A systematic review

“… 59 However, their social identity also includes multiple sources of oppression, such as race, ethnicity, gender, income, education, health status, and other factors 60 , 61 related to “racialized and gendered subjects” marginalized by power structures. 59 Intersectionality offers a lens to see where this “power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects.” 62 Within the narrow context of reproductive justice, 63 power structures can oppress decision-making 64 and marginalize people living with HIV. 65 For these reasons, intersectionality has analytical relevance for sensitive topics, such as reproductive health, 66 , 67 that can be synthesized from the literature to identify the social experiences resulting in marginalization 68 and the positional variability within and between groups 69 causing health inequities.…”