The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy Honors Black Maternal Health Week

Black Maternal Health Week is a week-long awareness campaign held each year from April 11th to 17th. The Black Mamas Matter Alliance founded Black Maternal Health Week to build awareness, activism, and community regarding the health experiences of Black moms and birthing people. The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy honors this important week. Starting Friday, April 11th we will share resources and information about Black disabled mothers and birthing peoples' maternal health. By sharing our work on disability, race, and maternal health, we bring awareness about a less-researched and resourced population. We hope that through sharing our resources and findings, people can learn more about the joys and challenges of being a Black disabled mom and the status of Black disabled maternal health in the United States.

Our Resources

• Video Research Brief: A Summary of the Pregnancy Health Experiences of Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing Women in the U.S. [View on Youtube]
  • In the United States, who you are and the resources you have can impact the quality of healthcare you receive. Research shows that when pregnant women don’t get the health information, support, and healthcare they need, both the mother and baby can be at higher risk of health issues. In this study, we talked to eight Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing women to learn about their pregnancy healthcare experience.
• Disability Data Dashboard
  • Our Parents with Disabilities Data Dashboards show the prevalence of Black disabled moms in the United States. Our Community Living Dashboard shows the Black women’s access to long-term services and supports (LTSS), such as home- and community-based services (HCBS).
• Research Brief: Disabled Women from Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups Have a Higher Likelihood of Unintended Pregnancy [View PDF]
  • Our study found that disabled women from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds were more likely to report an unintended pregnancy than white non-disabled women. They were also more likely to have unintended pregnancies than non-disabled women from their same racial and ethnic group.

• Video: Celebrating Black Maternal Health [View video on YouTube]
  • Laurie Bertram Roberts, Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, and Heather Watkins share the joys and challenges of Black disabled motherhood, and discuss their hopes for a more equitable future.
• Data Visualization regarding the new study Intersectional inequities in maternal mortality: Examining the compounded risks for black birthing individuals with physical disabilities. 
  • The study found that Black birthing people with physical disabilities experienced a super-additive effect. This means they were 11 times more likely to experience the risk of maternal mortality compared nondisabled white birthing people.
  • View the visualization on our social media channels: Linktr.ee/LurieInstitute
• Data Visualization regarding the new study Severe Maternal Morbidity and Other Perinatal Complications Among Black, Hispanic, and White Birthing Persons With and Without Physical Disabilities
  • The study found that, out of 10,000 deliveries, 583 Black physically disabled people had life-threatening complications, also known as Severe Maternal Morbidity.
  • View the visualization on our social media channels: Linktr.ee/LurieInstitute
• Research Brief: Unequal care unequal outcomes: [View PDF]
  • Black disabled women have worse pregnancy care & outcomes than their white disabled peers. This one-pager titled ‘Unequal care unequal outcomes’ explores a few of those experiences.

Explore more research and resources on Black disabled maternal health by visiting DisabilityAndPregnancy.org.