Across this country, Black women are dying from pregnancy-related causes at nearly three times the rate of White women. Statistically, Arkansas is one of the most dangerous places in America to give birth.
These are not just numbers. These are lives taken in the flesh, a husband burying his wife, left to raise children alone. These are children growing up in borrowed arms, and a community learning to carry what she should have been here to hold. These are names and lived experiences we should be speaking about from our pulpits, women’s groups, and life groups.
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Scripture reminds us of the sacredness of motherhood. Of all the ways God could have brought salvation into the world, God chose to bring Jesus through a woman’s womb. And when Christ was resurrected, God entrusted women with the first proclamation of the Good News. There is something deeply significant about women who carry and bring forth life.
This Mother’s Day, the Church can no longer afford to be casual about justice, human dignity, and the survival of women bringing forth new life.
I (Phillip), as a former pastor and an advocate of human dignity within the Ujima Maternity Network and The City of Hope Outreach, have found that this objective reality provides an anchor for the importance of motherhood, our beautiful children, and investment in care. As someone who observes firsthand the impact of organizations and policies failing to prioritize the Imago Dei, it is important that Black Churches take the lead in their language, ministries, and most importantly, the Gospel presentation.
I (Nicolle) am a certified doula of 17 years, an apprentice midwife, and have attended more than 850 births. I stand in the gap for my people, pressing for access to those in power, and ensuring that both leadership and community understand what Black mothers are truly up against, and what it will take to change their outcomes. Every mother bears the image of God. Her life is not negotiable. That is why we are joining the call to action from Heartland Forward’s Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America initiative, a plan to cut maternal mortality in the United States in half over the next five years. This is not an abstract policy. This is a roadmap for keeping mothers alive.
For Black mothers and families across Arkansas, that means expanding access to prenatal care so no woman is left navigating pregnancy alone. It means requiring postpartum check-ins through the first year of life, alongside mental health screenings that take seriously what too many women silently carry. It means investing in doulas, midwives, and community health providers who reflect the communities they serve and understand the lived realities of Black motherhood. And it means strengthening access to safe birth options, including support for out-of-hospital midwives, so women are not forced to travel hours just to give birth. We see Emmanuel, where God came down and dwelt amongst us. As his people, we must do the same with maternal healthcare, go to the people.
The Black Church has always been more than a place of worship. It is a refuge, a rallying point, a hospital for the soul. Now, it must also become a megaphone for the body. Pastors must preach maternal health as a matter of justice and dignity. Mothers’ boards must organize support for expecting and postpartum women. Deacons must help fund access to care. Every congregation should know the warning signs of preeclampsia. Every church should know the rights of a laboring mother. Every pew should be connected to a local doula and a postpartum therapist who reflects the women sitting in it.
Our calling is to make sure mothers walk through pregnancy alive and thriving, with her baby in her arms. Anything less is a failure of our witness.
Dr. Phillip D. Fletcher is the founder and chief executive officer of The City of Hope Outreach (CoHO), a non-profit in Conway, Arkansas, that addresses leadership, ethics, and social issues through the philosophy of personalism.
Nicolle Fletcher is the owner of Nurturing Arrows Birth Services, where she serves as a certified labor doula, lactation counselor, childbirth educator, and apprentice midwife. She is a natural gatherer and community champion. As the visionary of Ujima Maternity Network, doula trainer, mentor, public policy advocate, and speaker, Nicolle is committed to bringing realistic solutions to address the maternal healthcare crisis.
