Applying Holistic Care Research Principles to Black Maternal Health

The maternal health crisis in the United States, particularly affecting Black women, is due to disparities in health care access, socioeconomic inequalities, and systemic racism. The Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. (BMMA) leads efforts to improve Black maternal health using frameworks like reproductive justice and Black Feminism. To integrate reproductive justice frameworks within research, BMMA’s Research Working Group created six holistic care research principles for conducting research by, with, and for Black Mamas. This article describes the application of these principles across BMMA’s research projects, which can ensure that research activities and findings are responsive to the needs of Black birthing people.