I found one way to help improve Black maternal mental health | Opinion
Angela Neal-Barnett
Guest opinion
July 16, 2026, 6:05 a.m. ET
- Addressing mental health is critical to reducing Black infant mortality and maternal morbidity rates.
- Forty percent of Black perinatal women experience mental health conditions — nearly twice the rate of all women.
- Sister circles are a natural form of healing that draws upon the strength and courage in the friendships, sisterhood, and sense of community found among Black women.
I never intended to become an expert in Black perinatal mental health
As the director of the Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders among African Americans (PRADAA) Lab, I was happy doing other things
Then, one day, a young woman knocked on my office door
“Everyone told me to come see you,” she said. “I’m the founder of a doula agency. The people evaluating our agency tell us the women are not stressed. When the women talk to our doulas, they sound very stressed. Black babies are dying at a rate 2-5 times higher than non-Hispanic white babies. We think the evaluators are wrong. Can you help us?”
I said I’d try
The problem
A decade has passed since that encounter. During that time, I’ve learned addressing mental health is critical to reducing Black infant mortality and maternal morbidity rates
According to the March of Dimes, mental health conditions are the leading cause of death for postpartum women
Forty percent of Black perinatal women experience mental health conditions — nearly twice the rate of all women — due to the inequities and racism they experience. Furthermore, the duration of these conditions is longer and more severe.
Chronic stress, depression and anxiety are the most common mental health conditions experienced by pregnant and postpartum Black mothers
These conditions affect both the emotional and physical health of mothers. Chronic stress can contract the uterine lining, resulting in premature birth; depression can alter the placenta and has been linked with low birth rates and preterm births
Additionally, anxiety is linked with hypertension and increased risk of preeclampsia. Two out of three mothers who experience anxiety during pregnancy go on to experience postpartum depression.
Despite their negative impact on Black infant mortality and maternal morbidity, perinatal mental health conditions are often ignored and untreated by both doctors and also the women themselves.
One reason for this is shame and stigma. Many Black women believe they are supposed to be strong. Experiencing mental health difficulties is seen as weak, and to be weak and a Black woman is an oxymoron
A second reason is awareness. Many perinatal women simply do not realize the stress, anxiety and depression they are experiencing is not normal. A frequent refrain heard in our work at PRADAA is “What, this has a name? We just thought it was the way things were supposed to be.”
A third reason is cultural mistrust and fear. Perinatal mothers believe if they ask for help, they are at risk of their children being taken away, so they remain silent
A fourth factor is accessibility. Black perinatal women want to receive mental health services from people who look like them and are located in the neighborhoods where or close to where they live and work. This is difficult, as the number of Black mental health professionals is small, the number who work with perinatal mothers is smaller, and the number who work in Black neighborhoods is even smaller.
A solution in our own backyard
Despite the barriers, there are solutions. One solution is sister circles.
Sister circles are a natural form of healing that draws upon the strength and courage in the friendships, sisterhood, and sense of community found among Black women. Many Black women have been exposed to informal circles throughout their lives, whether in school, their workplace or in the community
In PRADAA, we have developed and implemented Spirit of Motherhood (SOM) Sister Circles led by doulas and focused on perinatal anxiety, stress and parenting stress
Funded by grants from the Akron Commmunity Foundation, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, Ohio Association of Health Plans Community Reinvestment Funds, the Ohio Department of Medicaid, and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, we embed SOM within trusted organizations in Black communities.
By doing so, we increase access to mental health services, reduce cultural mistrust, demonstrate community-research partnerships, and model the axiom that strong Black women ask for help.
Since that knock on my door, SOM sister circles have grown from one site in Cleveland to nine throughout Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Kent, Ravenna and Windham. Our community partners routinely share how the circles have become an important part of their services and report they can see the positive changes in the mothers
More importantly, perinatal women report a significant decrease in anxiety, stress and parenting stress. Social support is increased, and loneliness is decreased. As a result, mothers and their babies are healthier.
Spirit of Motherhood sister circles are changing lives. To find out more about a SOM Sister Circles in your area, text or call 330-552-8959
Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., leads the Spirit of Motherhood Sisterhood initiative. A licensed clinical psychologist and leading expert in Black perinatal mental health, she is the author of “Soothe Your Nerves: The Black woman’s guide to understanding and overcoming anxiety, panic, and fear” (Simon & Schuster).
