Black Maternal Health and History Project
Connecting histories of Black motherhood, midwifery and community knowledge with contemporary conversations about maternal health.
About
The project began in 2023 in response to persistent racial inequalities in maternal health and a recognition that contemporary discussions of Black maternity are often disconnected from their longer histories.
Our initial programme brought historians, healthcare practitioners, artists and members of Liverpool’s Black communities together through a series of participatory workshops. These explored experiences of pregnancy, birth and maternity care alongside histories of Black motherhood, midwifery and reproductive knowledge.
Rather than treating history simply as background to contemporary inequality, the project asks what becomes visible when historical research and lived experience are brought into conversation with one another.
History, Health and Lived Experience
Historical research is central to the project.
My wider research on slavery, Black motherhood and formerly enslaved people’s testimony provides a longer historical perspective on questions of maternal care, reproductive knowledge and community support.
Sources including the interviews conducted with formerly enslaved people during the Federal Writers’ Project preserve accounts of pregnancy, childbirth, midwifery, healing practices and forms of knowledge passed between generations of Black women.
These histories allow us to think critically about whose knowledge has been recognised within formal systems of healthcare, whose has been marginalised, and how community-based approaches to maternity care have persisted and developed over time.
Partners and Funders
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Black Mothers and Community Participants
The project has been shaped throughout by the experiences, knowledge and contributions of Black mothers and community participants in Liverpool.
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Collective Encounters
Community arts partner, bringing expertise in participatory practice, creative facilitation and co-production with community participants.
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British Academy
Funded the initial phase of the project through the SHAPE: Involve and Engage programme.
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National Museums Liverpool
Museum and heritage partner, supporting historical research, collections-based work and the development of public-facing project outputs.
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Liverpool John Moores University
Institutional home and funder of the project, supporting research, community engagement, curriculum development and subsequent project activity. here
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Liverpool Women's Hospital Anti-Racism Team
Supported the project by advising on the development of the Hey Mama leaflet and helping distribute it to women using maternity services.
What we’ve done
Community Workshops
Participatory workshops bringing historical research into conversation with contemporary experiences of pregnancy, birth and maternity care.
Our ongoing sessions meet monthly at The Black-E. Keep an eye on Collective Encounters eventspage for upcoming sessions
Midwifery Decolonisation Project
The project has informed interdisciplinary work between History and Midwifery at LJMU, bringing historical perspectives on race, maternity and healthcare into the curriculum and supporting student-led research into whose voices and experiences have traditionally been excluded.
Historical research
Research exploring Black motherhood, midwifery, reproductive knowledge and community-based approaches to care across time.
International Collaboration
The project has informed Andrea Livesey’s work on the Secretariat and Steering Committee of the UNFPA Global Coalition for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Afrodescendant Women and Girls. Drawing on expertise in digital humanities and public history, she also leads LJMU’s UNFPA-supported work developing the Coalition’s digital infrastructure and website, including its history and storytelling content.
Maternity Resources and reports
Co-produced resources, including Hey Mama leaflet, designed to support conversations around culturally informed and equitable maternity care.
Oral histories and storytelling
The developing Mother Wit podcast uses oral history and audio storytelling to document Black maternal knowledge, experience and community care.
The first podcast will be released as part of the Motherhood Group Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK (21st - 27th September 2026)
Granny Marie: History, Memory and Black Motherhood
Creative Public History
Granny Marie, Mother and Midwife is a spoken-word piece created through the Black Maternal Health and History Project. Bringing historical research into conversation with contemporary experiences of Black motherhood, the poem explores the connections between past and present, and the ways that maternal knowledge, memory and experience are carried across generations.
Drawing on testimony from formerly enslaved women alongside the experiences and reflections shared through the project, Granny Marie uses creative practice to bring historical and contemporary voices into dialogue.