The New Normal: Rewriting the Narrative of Black Motherhood with StoryCorps

In June 2024, for the first time in its history, the Philadelphia City Council allocated $1 million to address the Black maternal health crisis. Based on a recent report from ABC News, the government at all levels is collaborating to improve maternal health by increasing access to midwives and doulas to address common issues and coordinate necessary care. And just last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pledged $568 million to support efforts to improve maternal health. 

If you were to type the phrase ‘positive statistics about Black motherhood’ into a search engine, as we did several times, the results would likely depress you. The first ten pages of results feature articles about maternal mortality, healthcare disparities, single motherhood, and systemic oppression. The image painted of the Black mother is one burdened by pain, injustice, and loss. Efforts to prioritize care and self-compassion over survival are underrepresented and underreported. 

However, as with much of the Black experience, the reality of the Black mother is often in defiance of the stories told about her. The 2024 State of Motherhood Report, published annually by Motherly, confirms that the stories we’re told about Black mothers are far from complete:  

• 40% of Black mothers surveyed were very optimistic that their children would be better off financially than their family – the highest percentage of all surveyed groups.
• Black mothers were the most likely to breastfeed their children, at 94%. 
• 14% of Black mothers reported that they never felt burnt out by motherhood, with only 2-9% of mothers of other races reporting the same.
• Black mothers were the most likely to report feeling very supported by their partner, at 57% of respondents – 65% of Black mothers reported that becoming a parent brought them closer to their partner. 

These statistics tell the broader story of the care and compassion that Black women bring to the task of motherhood, a journey that often begins in the womb. Over the last few years, it appears that the systems employed with our care are finally catching up, too. 

While exciting to witness, we know that policy moves slowly; in the gap, it’s often community organizations that build the platforms and provide the services that keep Black mothers alive and thriving. 

CocoLife.Black is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit with a mission to create a platform and ecosystem nurtured by Black mothers to support expecting and grieving moms through each phase of their pregnancy. Their vision to establish a safe, supportive, and encouraging community was borne out of necessity. As founder Alexia Doumbouya went through postpartum depression, she discovered a lack of networks devoted to addressing its root cause., CocoLife.Black provides a healing space to work through the challenging emotions associated with maternal health ‘in a village’ of care.

Across the country, in California, mothers and activists Shantay Davies-Balch and Sabrina Beavers were similarly motivated by the challenges they’ve faced to create new solutions for Black mothers. 

Beavers is the Program Coordinator of Black Infant Health, a program that aims to improve the wellness of Black Mothers and babies by connecting them with care and support during pregnancy and following the birth of their babies. Davies-Balch is the founder and CEO of BLACK Wellness & Prosperity Center in Fresno, California, a center and research hub that advocates for and addresses the Black Maternal Child Health Disparity crisis.

This conversation, recorded for StoryCorps in 2021, tells us the story of what motivated them to work to end the loss of life that often defines our perceptions of Black motherhood. In the recording, Beavers summarizes what motivates so many to speak out and take action: 

“For my daughter’s sake and the sake of any Black women here now or destined to be, that we figure out how to prevent this from happening.”

You can listen to the full story below: