Black Maternal Mental Health Week is recognized annually July 19–25. Founded by the Shades of Blue Project, this initiative advocates for health equity for Black mothers and birthing individuals. By raising awareness, advocating for policy change, and promoting culturally competent care, Lamaze International recognizes this mission and aims to improve mental health outcomes and safe and healthy birth for Black mothers and parents during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.

Check out Lamaze blogs, podcasts, articles from the Journal of Perinatal Education, and educational resources from the new Lamaze Learning Center that can help your practice as you advocate for Black maternal mental health every day.

The Lamaze Podcast

• Birth Work and Racial Disparities: A Passage from Labor and Delivery Nurse to Activist to Midwife
• Advocating for Reproductive Health Among Black Women
• Breastfeeding and the Path to Birth Equity
• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Becoming Us

Like what you hear? Access all episodes of The Lamaze Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Stay tuned for season 4, launching this August.

Journal of Perinatal Education

• Celebrate Birth!—The Empowered Pregnancy That Changed My Life
• Improving Our Maternity Care Now Through Midwifery
• Improving Our Maternity Care Now Through Community Birth Settings
• Enhanced Doula Support to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes Among African American Women With Disabilities
• A Conceptual Analysis of Mental Health Maladaptation in Postpartum
• Transforming Maternity Care in the United States

The Journal of Perinatal Education (JPE) is a Lamaze membership benefit. You may be asked to log into your member account before reading the articles. Learn more about JPE and access past issues here.

Connecting the Dots

• Every Day Should Be Maternal Mental Health Day! What Educators Need to Know!
• Black Maternal Health Week — Black Parents and Babies Deserve Better
• Help Black Families Find Black Perinatal Professionals
• Are More Black Midwives and Black Owned Birth Centers the Answer to Higher Deaths Amongst Black Parents?

Read more research and resources for perinatal professionals on the Connecting the Dots blog.

Giving Birth With Confidence

• Mental Health Matters During Pregnancy and Postpartum
• Black Maternal Health Week: Finding Black Pregnancy, Birth and Breastfeeding Professionals
• Black Maternal Health Week Advocates to Improve Health Outcomes for Black Families
• Shades of Blue Provides Mental Health Support Groups for Black and Brown Mothers

Read more insights for parents on the Giving Birth With Confidence blog.

Lamaze Learning Center

• Introducing Black Centered Care to the Community
• Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss
• Trauma Informed Care as a Universal Precaution for Perinatal Health Professionals
• Towards a Framework of Birth Justice in Childbirth Education
• Reclaiming our Birthright: Lessons from Black Birthing Joy!

Check out all of the education Lamaze offers for childbirth educators and perinatal professionals, now available in the new Lamaze Learning Center!

Your perspectives and insights matter to the Lamaze International community. What are you doing to raise awareness and advocate for Black maternal mental health? Reach out to Content Manager Morgan Manghera at mmanghera@lamaze.org to find out how you can share your thought leadership and get published on Lamaze’s blogs.

Published: July 11, 2024

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