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Save 100 Babies©: Engaging Communities for Just and Equitable Birth Outcomes Through Photovoice and Appreciative Inquiry

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An Erratum to this article was published on 04 July 2014

Abstract

This paper presents a community engagement model designed to advance social justice and equity for African American birth outcomes through the combined techniques of Photovoice and Appreciative Inquiry. In response to the persistent racial disparities in birth outcomes, Save 100 Babies© was constructed as a 2-day summit where the emphasis was placed on individual and community assets rather than deficits. The engagement was designed to create a level of readiness among individuals working within and outside the field of Maternal and Child Health to envision strategies to attain equitable birth outcomes. The goal of the conference was to facilitate higher level consciousness by guiding the participants though a process aimed at articulating assets, possibilities and the potential for co-creating the desired future where racial disparities in birth outcome are eliminated. As the result of the guided discourse that began with photographs of the lives of African American women, participants articulated the strengths they detected from the pictures, their recommendations for multifaceted changes in policies and practices, and their individual and organizational commitments for a changed future. Since the summit, participants have indicated ways they have fulfilled their vows that include informing families and communities about pregnancy risks, working with youth programs, supporting fatherhood involvement in pregnancy and birth, and advancing case management that is more attuned to women’s strengths. Save 100 Babies© is evolving into a network and clearinghouse for sharing and disseminating information and resources for collaboration.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and HHS, Region IV for their generous support of this work. Thank you to Reverend Dr. Raphael G. Warnock for welcoming the collaboration with historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. We also express sincere gratitude to Jemea Dorsey, Director of the Center for Black Women’s Wellness and most especially the center’s clients who permitted us into their lives and became the beacon guiding the direction for just and equitable birth outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Fleda Mask Jackson

  2. Save 100 Babies, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Fleda Mask Jackson

  3. National Center for Health Behavioral Change, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Ama R. Saran

  4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region IV, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Sharon Ricks

  5. Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Joyce Essien

  6. Uncharted Territories, Asheville, NC, USA

    Kevin Klein

  7. Mt Welcome Baptist Church, Decatur, GA, USA

    Darryl Roberts

  8. Atlanta Healthy Start, Center for Black Women’s Wellness, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Natasha Worthy

Authors
  1. Fleda Mask Jackson
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  2. Ama R. Saran
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  3. Sharon Ricks
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  4. Joyce Essien
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  5. Kevin Klein
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  6. Darryl Roberts
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  7. Natasha Worthy
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Correspondence to Fleda Mask Jackson.

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Jackson, F.M., Saran, A.R., Ricks, S. et al. Save 100 Babies©: Engaging Communities for Just and Equitable Birth Outcomes Through Photovoice and Appreciative Inquiry. Matern Child Health J 18, 1786–1794 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1436-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1436-9

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