Commentary|Podcasts|July 21, 2026

Expanding Support Systems for Black Maternal Health

Author(s)Giuliana Grossi, Kanita Bourne, LCSW, MPA, PMH-C

Kanita Bourne, LCSW, discusses how implicit bias, missed depression signs, and expanded doula access are shaping Black maternal health outcomes.

Black women remain far more likely than their peers to face life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth, a disparity that persists regardless of income or education level. To help address it, the Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) launched "Healthy Conversations," a YouTube series designed to help Black women navigate their health care journey while pregnant. In a new Managed Care Cast episode, Kanita Bourne, LCSW, MPA, PMH-C, a perinatal mental health–certified clinician and manager of social and community services in IEHP's community behavioral health department, unpacks the thinking behind the series and the systemic forces driving these outcomes.

What's Driving the Disparities?

Bourne points to implicit bias and systemic racism as the core drivers behind disproportionately poor outcomes for Black women. She stresses that naming these forces is not an accusation against individual clinicians but a description of a health care system that was not built with Black women's success in mind. That structural disadvantage, she notes, compounds with the physiological toll of chronic stress and generations of inequity.

Listen to Black Women

A recurring theme across the interview series Bourne discusses is the need for clinicians to trust patients' own reports of their symptoms rather than dismiss them. She points to depression as a particularly overlooked example, noting that Black women experiencing depression often don't present with the stereotypical symptoms associated with the condition. Instead, they may appear high-functioning, taking on new responsibilities such as returning to school or starting another career, which can cause providers to miss the signs entirely.

Expanding Doula Access

Bourne highlights the expansion of doula care to Medicaid populations as a meaningful equity intervention, noting that this support was historically reserved for those who could pay out of pocket. She also calls for mandatory implicit bias training, hospital policies that make it easier for doulas and support people to be present during birth, and community-based care models that extend beyond traditional 9-to-5 clinic hours.

Looking Ahead

Bourne closes by urging that the conversation about Black maternal health continue year-round, not just during designated awareness weeks or months, framing it as a national issue with implications for family and community health as a whole.

Additional pregnancy and postpartum resources are available at IEHP, including case management, care coordination, doula referrals, free prenatal and postpartum classes, and a depression screening guide.