Saving Maternal Health: The Racialized Labor and Burnout of Birthworkers of Color in the US

• In Event: 30252 - Racialized Health Injustice

Abstract

Medicalized birth experiences have been associated with poor outcomes for pregnant people of color. Non-clinical birthworkers, like doulas, have been identified as a solution to this inequity. With this reliance on birthworkers of color to reverse racialized maternal health disparities, how do these individuals experience birthwork? Drawing from interviews conducted with 24 birthworkers of color in the US from November 2021 through April 2024, we reveal the weight of birthwork endured by this group. We situate these birthworkers’ experiences within sociological scholarship on burnout, racialized work and Black feminist theory on mothering, to introduce the concept of racialized burnout. We argue that racialized burnout stems from individuals being tasked with addressing structural racism on their own. Extending far beyond birthwork, these individuals are expected to reverse racialized maternal health inequity, which has been driven by medical racism that directly harms themselves and their communities, leaving them physically and emotionally exhausted.

Authors

• Hyeyoung Oh Nelson, University of Colorado-Denver

• Ashlyn Lange, University of Colorado-Denver

• Maleeha Kiran Shah, University of Colorado-Denver

• Mercy Kibet, University of Colorado-Denver