“She told me to try guida”: Black Perinatal Wellness in Cuba

• In Event: Black Femme Ecologies--A Tidal Wave of Black Mutual Assistance

Description for Program

African diasporic cultural and artistic traditions revive lived experiences of families in community, and relational ethics. This rushing river activates memory, and agency. In Havana, Cuba maternal and child health providers subscribe to a more holistic approach to health care. Working as a team they address biological, psychological, and social needs that impede or augment family health. In Cuba there are no racial differences in maternal and infant outcomes. Cuba had no maternal fatalities in 2022, yet the 2022 CDC reports that particularly due to African American birth outcomes the U.S. has the worst birth outcomes of all industrialized nations. In the U.S. weathering or the allostatic load and social isolation are factors that work against positive birth outcomes for Black and Brown birthing persons. Culturally congruent care infused with the arts can address the effects of weathering and social isolation. In Cuba African belief systems are integrated in treatment and health promotion and contribute to a sense of belonging. Providers in Cuba demonstrates their political will and that women centered wellness predicts community health. This paper will address how Cuba’s multidisciplinary women centered public health model can be applied to African diasporic women’s perinatal health.

Author

• Efia Dalili, BB-Penda, Inc