Session: Harnessing Qualitative Research to Promote Reproductive Justice: Understanding and Addressing Structural Inequities in Birthing and Parenting (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

Reproductive justice is a human rights-based framework that highlights the importance of self-determining whether and when to have a child as well as the right to raise children in safe and healthy communities. In the United States and beyond, these rights are challenged by healthcare systems, social institutions, and policy landscapes that foster and perpetuate inequities. This symposium will share qualitative research related to understanding and addressing structural inequities in birthing and parenting, using a reproductive justice lens.

Study 1 is an ethnography that examines interprofessional approaches to understanding and addressing the social determinants of maternal death and severe morbidity. In this study, key informants make recommendations for structural changes that could improve maternal mortality and morbidity. The author discusses, how these recommendations are often circumscribed by the biomedical model of maternal health and a political landscape where public resources to address structural inequity are increasingly limited.

Study 2 describes the qualitative portion of a sequential mixed-methods study about the impact of a Wisconsin policy called Birth Cost Recovery that holds some unmarried fathers responsible for Medicaid birthing costs. Researchers interviewed Black parents, who are disproportionately impacted by this policy. Findings suggest that Birth Cost Recovery may reproduce structural inequities and create strained family relationships. This research highlights opportunities to clarify the purpose and reach of Birth Cost Recovery and improve community understanding of this policy. The authors describe ways in which these qualitative findings will inform the next steps of their research: a natural experiment comparing experiences and outcomes in counties that did and did not recently discontinue this policy.

Study 3 is a qualitative study examining how Latine families rely on their children to navigate public and social institutions. Findings suggest that parents not only counted on their children for support and autonomy but also recognized the trade-offs involved, particularly in relation to children's education and emotional health. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the consequences of these youth brokering practices, making them more acute and visible. The author discusses how crises like the pandemic can magnify existing structural vulnerabilities and describes the need for supportive measures to address such inequities.

Study 4 is a qualitative investigation of the effects of the Abundant Birth Project, a $1,000 unconditional income supplementation during pregnancy. Through reflexive thematic analysis, researchers identified themes related to the joys of pregnancy, which are also commonly limited by structural factors such as financial and housing insecurity. Findings highlight the ways that unconditional income supplementation promotes birth equity by increasing joy and reducing stress. The author describes future avenues for expansion of unconditional income supplementation as an evidence-based perinatal health intervention.