BM4F Lead-Free Mamas Environmental Justice Doulas

The Lead-Free Mamas Village (#LFM) is the first-of-its-kind Environmental Justice and Reproductive Justice leadership program brought to you by Black Millennials 4 Flint in partnership with SisterSong and the Morehouse Satcher Health Leadership Institute. Over the course of six months, the #LFM Village provides Doulas and ancestral birth workers with effective, culturally-customized approaches to lead exposure prevention and lead poisoning risk mitigation during preconception, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.

Why is this program important?

According to the CDC and the March of Dimes, a pregnant woman's exposure to lead over her lifetime is stored in her bones and can be released into the blood during pregnancy, increasing her blood-lead level and possibly exposing her developing baby. Lead is also passed through the placenta.

Lead poisoning during pregnancy can...

●Increase risk for miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight babies.

●Hurt the baby’s brain, kidneys, spinal cord, and nervous system.

●Cause the child to have socio-emotional, behavioral, and learning problems. It is also associated with childhood hearing loss.

●Make breastmilk unsafe, if lead levels are too high.

●Cause high blood pressure and hypertension-related complications.

Pregnant Black women are at the highest risk of adverse birth outcomes due to the environmental effects of climate change and pollution, such as...

●Black women are more likely to live in hotter climates than their white counterparts. Exposure to more intense heat waves is associated with increased premature births, stillbirths, and low birth weight babies. Black families are less likely to have central air conditioning in their homes and renters are more likely to experience challenges affording higher electrical bills. In contrast, white families are more likely to live in neighborhoods with green spaces and increased tree covering, which help keep temperatures down.

●Industries including power plants are more likely to pollute in or near communities inhabited by Black women and their families. High exposure to air pollution during the third trimester of pregnancy is linked to a 42% increased risk of stillbirth. Mothers with asthma are at particularly high risk of severe preterm birth.

●Pregnant women are uniquely vulnerable to toxic chemical exposure, which can impact their lifelong health. Social determinants of health, such as exposure to racism, experiences of poverty, and unequal access to quality healthcare may further exacerbate the effects on her maternal health. 

●The association between environmental stressors and reproductive health impacts includes hypertension-related pregnancy complications, male and female infertility, uterine fibroids, and a higher risk of certain types of breast cancer.

●Imported hazardous consumer products containing heavy metals such as lead are often sold at discount stores (ex. dollar stores) where many BIPOC families shop. Such products include unsafe baby products and children's toys, as well as contaminated cosmetics and feminine products.

Doulas can support pregnant women by...

●Educating pregnant women about obtaining a lead blood test from their doctor. 

●Informing families about affordable, culturally-relevant meals high in iron, calcium (including plant-based), and vitamins C, D, and E, which slow lead absorption.

●Sharing tips for removing lead from the home, which may start with contacting the local health department for paint and water testing.

Black Millennials 4 Flint and our partners acknowledge and honor Doulas and ancestral birth workers as respected non-clinical providers whose scope of care and support improves Black and Latinx maternal and infant morbidity and mortality outcomes by prioritizing the social determinants and political determinants of health and wellbeing.

This program enhances the expertise of participants by focusing on...

● Dismantling environmental racism

● Actionable lead prevention practices

● Advocacy and policy in local communities

● Impactful social media engagement

Thank you for your financial support, which allows the Lead-Free Mamas program to continue to be completely free for our Doulas and ancestral birth workers! With your contribution, their participation in the MomniBrunch Birth Justice Advocacy Summit, a health equity and policy conference held in Flint, MI, will also be at no cost to them.

●Your $7,000+ sponsorship includes your name/logo in the MomniBrunch Summit marketing AND Lead-Free Mamas program materials.

●Your $3,000 donation sponsors (3) BIPOC Doulas' participation in the MomniBrunch Birth Justice Advocacy Summit in Flint, MI.

●Your $1,000 donation provides (2) BIPOC Doulas with professional development and continued education support.

●Your $600 donation provides (1) BIPOC Doula a full scholarship for the Lead-Free Mamas Environmental Justice & Reproductive Justice leadership program.

●To donate in-kind products or services, please contact Vanessa at programs@BlackMillennials4Flint.org.