Revolutionary Mamas: Radical Doulas and the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis

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2020
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
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en
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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An ethnography of the role of race in reproductive healthcare and birthwork, Revolutionary Mamas: Radical Doulas and the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis, examines Radical Doula work in Austin, Texas. Combining conceptual frameworks with extensive interviews from Black Mamas, community organizers, and doulas, this thesis sheds light on how Black women traverse their interpersonal and structural realities as they face alarmingly high chances of death during pregnancy and childbirth. Drawing upon Black feminist thought, critical race theory, and post-structuralist approaches, this thesis shows how Radical Doulas provide holistic full-spectrum care that reflects the racial, political, and economic identities of their clients and interrupts systemic inequities present in biomedical systems. By paying particular attention to birthworkers’ navigations of the temporal and spatial landscapes of health, the implications of the reproductive afterlife of slavery, and caretaking as a mechanism for claiming protection and power from the State, Revolutionary Mamas demonstrates that Radical Doulas are invaluable in their roles as trusted community guides and revolutionary agents.
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