Developed for Birthing Social Change: Midwives Alliance of North America Annual Conference 2013

1. On Diversity:
Contemporary Black
Midwives’
Perceptions of
Organizational
Diversity Initiatives
Midwives Alliance of North America Conference
October 25th, 2013

2. Study’s Research Questions
•
How do black midwives understand their role, its
possibilities and challenges, in addressing the issues of
the current health care crisis?
•
How do black midwives interpret the relatively low
percentage of black midwives and black women’s
underutilization of midwifery services in the United
States?
•
How do black midwives interpret the relatively high
black maternal and infant mortality rate in the United
States?
•
How do black midwives interpret the increasing
medicalization and credentialism of midwifery and
its impact on their work?
•
What are the differences in black midwives
experiences and perceptions by age cohort, state
regulation and type of midwife, i.e. nurse, direct-entry,
student?

3. Study Participants
• 23 Interviews
_ 13 Certified Nurse Midwives
– 5 Certified Professional Midwives
– 2 Certified Midwives
– 3 Midwifery Education Program
Representatives

4. Identified Themes
• Who is a Midwife?
– Effects of Medicalization &
Credentialism, especially the loss of the
community midwife
– How does this impact the larger goal of
providing excellent care to women and
girls?
• What is Midwifery?
– Continued need for education and
community outreach on midwifery, its
history and it’s safety, particularly for
women and teenage girls of color
– Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome

5. Identified Themes
• Overt & Systematic Racism is the
Major Explanatory Factor of the
High U.S. Black Maternal and
Infant Mortality Rates

6. Identified Themes
• Beyond Birthing
– Need for Targeted Recruitment &
Retention Efforts for Midwives of
Color
– Need for Continued & Increased
Presence in Local, State, National &
International Health and Education
Policy Initiatives

7. Identified Themes
• Experience of Alienation in Large
Professional Midwifery
Organizations, i.e. Midwives
Alliance of North America & the
American College of NurseMidwives

8. What is Diversity?

9. The Trouble with Diversity
• “Diversity is performance art for
white people.”
• “I used to be a member of [X Large
Midwifery Organization] but I’m not
anymore. It’s racist. They play lip
service to diversity but there is no
real financial commitment to it.”
• “Don’t use racial disparities and talk
of diversity [air quotes] in order to
get more funding for your
organization. That’s bullshit.”

10. The Trouble with Diversity
• Conflation of multiculturalism with
diversity
• Need for true representation of
women of color on Board of
Directors and other
governing/advising bodies
• Need for full organizational
support, specifically financial, for all
women or color committee
programming and initiatives

11. The Trouble with Diversity
• Need for continued support of
student midwives of
color, specifically scholarship and
preceptorship opportunities
• Need for conference and other
educational programming on
issues and challenges unique and
specific to women of color and
babies

12. The Trouble with Diversity
• Need for continued collaboration
of major midwifery organizations
to model and create opportunities
for a more cohesive midwifery
community

13. Thank You!
Keisha L. Goode
Doctoral Candidate in Sociology
The Graduate Center,
City University of New York
kgoode@gc.cuny.edu
301.452.7728