Reframing the narrative: Black maternal mental health and culturally meaningful support for wellness

Abstract

Black mothers with young children have encountered pernicious, multidetermined, racial disparities in the United States for centuries. However, disorders, risks, and stressors among Black mothers with young children are presented in the extant literature with little attention to their strengths, supports, or culturally appropriate ways to intervene and this furthers racism and White supremacy. Further, incomplete and negative narratives about Black mothers are perpetuated. Therefore, this article uses the Afrocentric perspective to better understand the state of Black maternal mental health and supports for mental health. Culturally centered recommendations are presented to move the field of infant mental health toward racial justice-oriented practice, policy, and research.