ABSTRACT

The second edition of this pathbreaking, widely taught book offers six new chapters, on breastfeeding and Black infant health; Black birthing during COVID; Black doulas rethinking birthing practices; the recent buildup of a US national movement; childbirth in Zanzibar; and expanding the global movement for sexual and reproductive well-being. Other chapters are updated throughout. Birthing Justice puts Black women’s voices at the center of the debate on what should be done to fix the broken maternal care system. It foregrounds Black women’s agency in the birth justice movement. First published in 2016, Birthing Justice is a seminal text for those interested in maternal healthcare, reproductive justice, health equity, and intersectional racial justice, especially in courses on gender studies, Black studies, public health, and training programs for midwives and OB/GYNs. Additional resources and a reading group guide are available at www.blackwomenbirthingjustice.com.

chapter |22 pages

Introduction: Beyond Coercion and Malign Neglect

Black Women and the Struggle for Birth Justice

part Section I|36 pages

Birthing Histories

chapter 24Chapter 1|5 pages

Queen Elizabeth Perry Turner

“Granny Midwife,” 1931–1956

chapter Chapter 2|13 pages

Regulating Childbirth

Physicians and Granny Midwives in South Carolina

chapter Chapter 3|16 pages

Speak Their Names

The Power of Sankofa to Reclaim Black Midwifery

part Section II|88 pages

Beyond Medical versus Natural

chapter 60Chapter 4|10 pages

An Abolitionist Mama Speaks

On Natural Birth and Miscarriage

chapter Chapter 5|8 pages

Mothering

A Post-C-section Journey

chapter Chapter 6|9 pages

Confessions of a Black Pregnant Dad

chapter Chapter 8|12 pages

Birth Justice and Population Control

chapter Chapter 9|12 pages

Beyond Silence and Stigma

Pregnancy and HIV for Black Women in Canada

chapter Chapter 10|6 pages

What I Carry

A Story of Love and Loss

chapter Chapter 11|12 pages

Sheltering in Community

Reimagining Black Birth during the COVID-19 Pandemic

chapter Chapter 12|9 pages

Images from the Safe Motherhood Quilt

The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project

part Section III|70 pages

Changing Lives, One Birth at a Time

chapter 148Chapter 13|9 pages

This Is How We Fight!

Finding My Power and Protecting the Peace of Black Mothers in a Pandemic

chapter Chapter 14|6 pages

Birthing Sexual Freedom and Healing

A Survivor-Mother's Birth Story

chapter Chapter 15|7 pages

Birth as Battle Cry

A Doula's Journey from Home to Hospital

chapter Chapter 16|7 pages

Sister Midwife

Nurturing and Reflecting Black Womanhood in an Urban Hospital

chapter Chapter 17|7 pages

WAJAMAMA

Transforming Childbirth in Zanzibar through Holistic Midwifery Care

chapter Chapter 18|6 pages

A Love Letter to My Daughter

Love as a Political Act

chapter Chapter 20|9 pages

I Am My Hermana's Keeper

Reclaiming Afro-Indigenous Ancestral Wisdom as a Doula

chapter Chapter 21|11 pages

The First Cut Is the Deepest

A Mother-Daughter Conversation about Birth, Justice, Healing, and Love

part Section IV|77 pages

Taking Back Our Power

chapter 218Chapter 22|12 pages

Unexpected Allies

Obstetrician Activism, VBACs, and the Birth Justice Movement

chapter Chapter 23|13 pages

Becoming an Outsider-Within

Jennie Joseph's Activism in Florida Midwifery

chapter Chapter 24|13 pages

Embodied Abolition

Prisons, Pregnancy, and the Struggle for Birth Justice

chapter Chapter 25|9 pages

Lifting Up Black Doulas

Black Women Organizing to Reimagine Birthwork

chapter Chapter 26|16 pages

Black Mamas Matter

How Black Women Built a Global Movement for Black Maternal Health, Rights, and Justice