Erica Chidi, a reproductive health educator and former doula, speaks about what it will truly take to solve the Black Maternal Health Crisis.
When Erica Chidi launched the reproductive health platform LOOM in 2017, it was to address a growing gap in knowledge around reproductive health and to empower others with the right know-how.
It also arrived at a time when many were waking up to the realities that, because of a host of systemic reasons, including access to healthcare and reproductive health education, Black women are three to four times more likely than their white counterparts to die from childbirth-related causes.
Now, nearly ten years later, after organizations like the BirthFUND have launched and more people are familiar with doulas, Chidi sees progress but admits there’s still a lot left to do. The numbers for Black women have not moved meaningfully despite the overall maternal mortality rate decreasing.
“We need to keep going,” Chidi said during a phone interview with theGrio on the final day of Black Maternal Health Week.
Chidi, a health educator, author, and former doula, became a strategic advisor for Perelel Health after the company acquired LOOM in 2024. One of the biggest inroads she has observed in her roughly 15 years of being a doula and working in this space is a growing awareness among Black women of their resources, including doulas and midwifery.
“13 years ago, nobody really knew what a doula was except for a certain echelon of, probably, white women,” the former doula explained.
She added that in the south, there has also been “more awareness” because the legacy of midwifery dating back to “granny midwives” and slavery has remained somewhat “intact” over the years.
“But generally, no one really knew. So now, at least everybody knows what that is. Some insurances are covering it. It’s more of a known quantity. That’s a big change,” she continued. “And so I know that the change is possible.”
In addition to the BirthFUND, where Chidi is among the advisors, other organizations like the Black Mamas Matter Alliance have also joined the conversation to advance solutions around the crisis. However, resting the focus solely on Black women to increase their knowledge of doulas and reproductive health in general keeps the onus on them instead of where it truly belongs.
“Black women are amazing,” Chidi said. “We are resourceful, and we can just get it done in the darkest of moments and with the least amount of resources. But it’s not going to solve for the entire issue. There has to be this blended approach.”
A more “blended approach,” according to Chidi, would need to include health providers and the general public increasing their commitment to solving the Black maternal health crisis.
In Virginia, where some of the rates of Black maternal mortality are the highest, Virginia Union University became the first HBCU to launch a doula certificate program. While this is technically still Black women coming to solve the problem for themselves, it is an example that could be followed throughout the country.
Chidi said “more of that” level of response is what’s needed, noting other institutions could offer their own versions. In addition to funds to help families find birthworkers, there should be funds to help people train to become birthworkers.
“We need to see care that is congruent to the actual situation that we find ourselves in,” she expressed. “Which means that it’s academic. It’s at the practice level, and then it’s also social.”
Ultimately, truly addressing this issue is going to require getting everybody on board. Just like many individuals are walking around with a working knowledge or familiarity with basic first aid or CPR, Chidi would love to see this same level of awareness with pregnancy and pregnant people.
Chidi sees it this way: whether a person has children or intends to, “it is your responsibility to learn about pregnancy and postpartum.”
Obviously, everyone can’t become certified doulas, but understanding what certain things look like in a pregnant person could be the difference in a fatal complication.
In the meantime, there are plenty of people like Chidi who are continuing to do the work to increase the collective consciousness around this crisis. The day Chidi spoke with theGrio, she had also launched a new project, a substack dubbed “Soft Boundaries.” Through this new project, she intends to cultivate community as she continues to transition on her journey with Perelel Health. By delving deeper into her personal story, she’s also rejoining the conversation online after stepping back around 2019 to deal with personal issues, including an experience with fibroids. Her Substack will offer self-soothing tools and more resources.
She said it’s going to be “all about re-opening up the channels and sharing.”
“My best skill is storytelling,” she continued. “It always has been because that’s what makes you a good educator. It’s actually what makes you a really good doula, too. Because you’re really just helping people tell the story of their body so that other people can hear it.”
