According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in 2020, Black babies experienced the highest rate of sudden unexpected deaths, dying at almost three times the rate of white infants. Yet, for grieving Black parents, the challenges to find culturally relevant help and support through the process, was almost but nonexistent. A new book, The Mourning After: A Black Infant Mortality Anthology, is hoping to change that by offering unique assistance with grief for Black parents.
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Even as a professional that has extensive experience in Black maternal health and infant mortality, author Xaviera Bell stated in an interview with Parents.com, that it was even hard for her to find culturally competent care at he loss of her son. That experience was her inspiration to pen The Mourning After: A Black Infant Mortality Anthology.
“I remember how desperate I was when I walked into the hospital with a baby, but had to walk out 24 hours after my delivery with no baby and with a box of books, papers, and pamphlets I could not use,” she told the popular parenting magazine. “The information, although thoughtful, was not relatable. When I lost my son, I needed something desperately to help me through my grief process.”
She concluded, “I needed the words of other women who looked like me, and had survived the experience.”
Bell shared in a recent Instagram post that she is, “… thankful that this book will change lives, not only the lives of black families but the lives of white practitioners that want to provide better care and service to their black clients.”
And changing lives is exactly what her book is doing. Danielle Nicole, who experienced a pregnancy loss in 2016, told Parents.com that she is “thankful for this book.”
“I’m thankful for this book; it proves that we can come together as a unit to spread awareness about the importance of receiving the proper education, support, and care that we need when it comes to pregnancy, loss, and postpartum stages.”
According to Bell’s official website, The Mourning After: A Black Infant Mortality Anthology is a groundbreaking literary work that sheds light on the experiences of Black women who have tragically lost their children because of miscarriage, preterm labor, terminal medical diagnosis, and/or stillbirth. This anthology, featuring heartfelt stories, powerful essays from providers, and insightful perspectives, aims to raise awareness about the urgent issue of black infant mortality and the unique challenges faced by Black mothers, including but not limited to implicit bias, systemic and institutional racism.
“I hope that mothers in loss will use this book as a private resource to assist them with navigating through their journey. I hope that this book will produce the answers that they need in their darkest hours.”
For more information on The Mourning After: A Black Infant Mortality Anthology, click here.
Photo Credit(s)/Featured Image: Pexels.com; @tinyheartsrememberedinc Instagram; @iamzaybell Instagram
