The conversation surrounding health care at large deserves much attention; however what women of color endure as a result of limited access to health care should pull at our heart strings. Maternal health for all women is vital to the overall health and well-being of our future. Healthy mothers create healthier babies who enliven a healthier world. The health of all women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period cannot be ignored.

A journey that is designed to bring joy to families and bring precious life into the world is now a life-and-death experience due to the lack of proper health care, mental health services, and mindfulness spaces for women of color. Although a healthy pregnancy and childbirth should be the norm, research shows that every 12 hours, a woman dies from complications from pregnancy or giving birth (Center for Disease Control, 2021). Unfortunately, Black and American Indian/Alaska native women are about three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause. See this graphic.

Yoga 4 Philly recognizes the importance of reducing maternal morbidity (any short- or long-term health problems resulting from being pregnant and giving birth) as well as reducing maternal mortality (the death of a woman from complications of pregnancy and childbirth that occur during the pregnancy). We recognize the positive impact of yoga for all people, so we’re currently placing particular emphasis on maternal wellness in an effort to pour into the health and well-being of future mothers.

Prenatal yoga is a multi-faceted approach to exercise that encourages stretching, mental centering and focused breathing. Research suggests that prenatal yoga is not only safe, but has numerous benefits for pregnant women and their babies, including improved sleep, reduced blood pressure, reduced stress and anxiety, an increase in strength, flexibility and endurance of muscles needed for childbirth, as well as a decrease in lower back pain, nausea, headaches, and shortness of breath. Prenatal yoga may increase a mother’s ability to cope with labor pain and even optimizes the bond between mother and infant. By building relationships and community among mothers who may feel lonely or isolated, the many benefits of prenatal yoga are plentiful.

We at Yoga 4 Philly see prenatal yoga as a necessity in improving the livelihood of our mothers, our children, and our world. So we’re working to provide free prenatal yoga classes to women of color and their partners through 2022. Click here if you’d like to support our effort.

If change is going to happen, it must start with us – with those who have the courage to work for a better world.