Racial Disparities and Maternal Health with Frankie Robertson

Season #1

Racial Disparities and Maternal Health with Frankie Robertson

Guest: Frankie Robertson CEO of AMANDLAGROUP (www.theamandlagroup.com)

Frankie Robertson has worked in public administration for more than two decades. Her maternal and child health work spans over a decade and began as the state director of the Louisiana Chapter of March of Dimes. During her tenure as state director, her talented team partnered with key stakeholders on successful statewide initiatives such as the 39 Weeks Initiative, Group Prenatal Care, Baby and Me Tobacco Free, and Go the Full 40.

[00:52] An Outlier's Perspective on "What are Boundaries" 

When I think about boundaries, I think about a property line. That's all a boundary is a boundary allows you to clearly distinguish which territory belongs to you versus where belongs to somebody else. That's what a boundary is it distinguishes and establishes your territory versus someone else's. The reason why that's important is because when it comes down to moving boundaries, I've never seen anybody move a property line before. . . .

[03:42] Mrs Robertson on Maternal Mental Health 

My passion is social justice, first and foremost, and maternal mental health. So all of this excusing maternal overall maternal health, with an emphasis on maternal mental health. So you know, this is all intertwined. My passion is healthy moms, healthy black moms, healthy babies. And in order to have healthy moms and healthy babies, and especially healthy black moms and healthy babies, we have to have a healthy state of mental health. . . .

[8:15] How Does Racism Manifests 

How does racism manifest itself? Because, we're talking about institutional racism and what it's doing to African American, women's maternal health, but how does it manifest itself? You know, what does it look like?  Sure, it looks like a myriad of things? So from a systems level, you look at the social determinants of health. And I know, you're familiar with the social and political determinants of health. So the systems and structures that we have, as black women have to interact with on a daily basis just to survive. . . .

[12:44] Adverse Childhood Experiences and Maternal Health 

There are parents who have had much more adverse experiences with their pregnancies and with the outcomes of their children after birth. There are parents who are bereaved parents who are dealing with the actual loss of their child or children, there are people who are dealing with miscarriages of their babies. There are people who are dealing with processing long term abnormalities and with their children, and just trying to find a path of survival for them. . . .

[19:21] How to Advocate For Yourself at the Doctor's Office 

How to recognize common ailments that disproportionately impact us as black people, and how to communicate those concerns how to communicate, report that to your doctor. So for example, if you I'll just give an example, as a mom you should be watching out for movement, making sure your baby's continuing to move because babies don't slow down. Once they start moving right they move and they get more active to the extent that they may run out of space. But they're still active. . . .

 

Resources:

 

Don’t Forget:

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please leave a review.

If you know someone who’d enjoy or benefit from today’s topic, hit the share button and pass it on.

Thank you so much, and until next time!

Agape,

Harry “The Nocturnal Therapist” Turner