Black Centering seeks to cultivate community and empowerment and love within yourself, and it impacts your birth outcomes and your postpartum experiences, especially for moms who have not had the best experiences in the past. It gives them a sense of community, of extra support. It gives them a gold package of care that everyone should receive.

Bryonna Mathews

Certified Nurse-midwife
AHS Family Birthing Center and BElovedBIRTH Black Centering

I was led to midwifery many years ago, but most recently, ever since starting to work at Highland, I realized that there is this huge need for serving our community, and the maternal mortality rates within this country are just devastating, and I felt like this work really needed to be done.
 
We have many advantages to our Black Centering program, but what stands out to me is the opportunity to build community and bond with other women who may be from the same background as you. Also, the opportunity to have childbirth education that’s more geared toward Black women. That’s unique. I’ve actually never seen a childbirth education program specifically for Black women.
 
BElovedBIRTH Black Centering is educating our moms on disparities and structural racism and how that impacts maternity care. That essentially equips them with the knowledge to be able to navigate the system.
 
We have an all-Black team. There’s so much to be said about having a provider that looks like you. A lot of research has shown that when Black patients are taken care of by Black doctors, their outcomes are much better. There’s something special about being able to lean in and have support from someone that looks like you or who has had the same experiences.
 
Most feedback that we get from our moms is that they feel heard and listened to, and I think that does wonders for their outcomes when they feel like they have a provider that stands by them and listens and is supportive.

Black Centering seeks to cultivate community and empowerment and love within yourself, and it impacts your birth outcomes and your postpartum experiences, especially for moms who have not had the best experiences in the past. It gives them a sense of community, of extra support. It gives them a gold package of care that everyone should receive.

Read the next story