Carrying for the Culture

Suboptimal postpartum health outcomes in the US, including low rates of lactation and high rates of postpartum depression, contribute to high rates of perinatal mortality and morbidity as well as long-term and intergenerational health outcomes. Black birthing parents and infants are at the highest risk, with the lowest rates of lactation and the highest rates of postpartum depression. Yet most interventions to support lactation and postpartum mental health are based on models of care that are unrepresentative of Black and global majority communities. The principal investigator's previous Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) using soft infant carriers to increase parent-infant physical contact was effective in increasing lactation and decreasing postpartum depression in a sample of Latinx postpartum parents. Infant carrying, or "babywearing," is a culturally relevant prevention strategy based on models of parenting representative of Black and global majority communities. In this study, the investigators use strategies from implementation research and clinical effectiveness research to assess an infant carrier intervention within a community-based, culturally specific perinatal home visiting program for Black birthing parents.