Black women in America are still more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts — a crisis rooted in systemic bias, medical mistrust, and unequal access to care. As lawmakers advance Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” sweeping healthcare changes are sending shockwaves through vulnerable communities.
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For Black women, the stakes are urgent — making this a critical moment to demand accountability and reimagine maternal care through a just and equitable lens.
The Root caught up with the women behind the 5th Annual Day of Reckoning Conference, set for Feb. 26 to March 1 in Montgomery and Birmingham, which focuses on equitable maternal health, reproductive justice, and bodily autonomy.
Michelle Browder, creator of the conference and “The Mothers of Gynecology” Monument; Dr. Camille Clare, president-elect of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG); and Queen Afua, author of “Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit” and nationally recognized womb wellness practitioner, are confronting the painful legacy of gynecology in the Black community and charting a path forward rooted in dignity and collective healing — physically, mentally, and spiritually. Here’s what’s most important to know.
Maternal Health Begins Long Before Conception
Queen Afua, author and founder of the Queen Afua Wellness Institute, believes healing must begin long before a woman ever enters a delivery room. “We have to work together — all hands on deck,” she said, emphasizing preparation for conception, stress release, and spiritual cleansing as fundamental to maternal health.
From healing baths and castor oil patches to proper nutrition and breastfeeding support, Afua describes building “wellness homes” where every space — from the kitchen to the bathroom — is used intentionally for care. That said, her approach goes beyond physical detoxification. The wellness queen has concerns in every area from infant mortality rates, fibroids, generational trauma and overall internal health.
“I teach how to create a healer in every family, and a ‘wellness home.’ To know what to do in that kitchen — foods, juices, herbs, soups, salads. To know what to do in the bathroom [via] hydrotherapy. Release that tension, that rage, that stress that we keep birthing over and over again — to release our grandmother’s and mother’s stress. We’re the carriers of that. This is all a part of the purging, and the flushing, and renewing and healing and letting the community heal us.”
“When you detox, it’s not just the body,” Queen Afua continued. “It’s the mind and the spirit. It’s not isolated to the womb — it’s also what’s in our hearts.”
Patient-Centered Care Matters
Dr. Camille Clare, president-elect of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), approaches the crisis from inside the medical establishment. She stresses patient-centered care and shared decision-making as essential tools in rebuilding trust for patients. According to her, addressing social needs must be part of clinical conversations, particularly in communities where mistrust of the medical industrial complex is deeply rooted.
“We have a collective action in advancing respect in equity, so bringing a respect framework to the work of reproductive justice is important,” Dr. Clare said. “Obstetricians and gynecologists have a storied history which we’re well aware of, but how [do we] move to a solutions-oriented approach? We’re aware of the mistrust, but bringing evidence-based practice and discussion to the space and correcting misinformation and disinformation, that’s prevalent in the work we do.
“How can we be humble in our perspective?” Dr. Clare asked. “How can we continue to do this in a way that’s evidence-based, that speaks to accurate information, and doesn’t amplify misinformation — which is particularly important in this space,” she added, pointing to trusted resources such as ACOG’s recently released women’s health book, “Menopause: What Your Ob-Gyn Wants You to Know.”
Healing Beyond Hospital Walls
Conference creator Michelle Browder, also creator of “The Mothers of Gynecology” Monument, insists that healing cannot remain confined to hospital systems or hotel conference rooms. For five years, she has intentionally hosted gatherings in cities like Selma and Mobile, bringing doulas, midwives, and physicians into the same space. The goal, she says, is not only to confront the painful history of gynecology in Alabama, but to create real collaboration for real change.
“We don’t hold our conferences at hotels. We go to where the people are. We went to Selma and Mobile, and garnered support from lobbyist and legislators. We want to move this towards policy,” she said. “How do we change the policy in how medicaid and medicare [works] and how it’s affected?”
“We’ve had midwives, doctors, and doulas in the room discussing: ‘How can we learn from each other?’ It’s going to take going into these communities, having these conversations strategically — in historical places like Birmingham Alabama, where we’re talking to the dog bite doctor, who turned his home into a hospital where people were treated,” Browder emphasized.
“It’s gonna take people coming together in these spaces and having an honest conversation. Not just the wrongs, but those of us doing it right — we need to spread it to others and amplify that as well,” she maintained.
The Way Forward
Black women’s maternal health in the United States has long been shaped by systemic neglect and exploitation, per the National Library of Medicine. From forced experimentation during slavery to discriminatory medical practices well into the 20th century, their bodies were often treated as sites of research — sometimes brutal — rather than care.
Confronting this painful legacy — starting with the empowering gathering at the 5th Annual Day of Reckoning Conference in Birmingham, Alabama — is essential to building equitable, respectful, and life-saving care for Black mothers all around the world. Change is long overdue, and the momentum is unstoppable.
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