Pregnancy and Infant loss affects 1 in 4 women. March of Dimes estimates a global miscarriage rate of between 10-15% in women who knew they were pregnant. According to the Centers for Disease Control, non-Hispanic Black women and American Indian/Alaska Native women are twice as likely to experience stillbirth in comparison to Non-Hispanic Whites, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.
Key here is the way certain intersections impact a pregnant person’s ability to have a positive maternal outcome. Lower quality maternal health care, socioeconomic factors, and structural racism in healthcare closely tie to racial disparities in maternal and infant deaths.
In a country that has no federal protection for abortion which is now predictably leading to an uptick in pregnancy-related deaths and an increase in pregnancy criminalization, with no federal paid leave policy, a rising maternal mortality rate, a growing number of maternal care deserts, and childcare becoming more and more unaffordable, relying on existing institutions does not necessarily work for everyone, especially the most marginalized.
Outside of the traditional health and medical systems, we need to see strong community based care become the norm, and thankfully, there are advocates, leaders, and experts who are leading the way on what a strong community model of care looks like in practice.
One of those leaders is Dr. Ana’Neicia Williams – a collective care practitioner who integrates her creativity and clinical background to curate therapeutic spaces rooted in culture and ancestral practices. Her maternal-child and reproductive health and advocacy work allows individuals and communities to foster relationships that support wellness. She founded Momology Maternal Wellness Club, LLC, where she provides vision mapping and consulting to organizations that serve women and families.
When Ana’Neicia is not serving on the front lines, she spends time in her community connecting and educating individuals and families on how the integration of healing and wellness practices are a pathway to liberation. A three-time Spalding University graduate, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Social Work, and Doctor of Social Work, specializing in Leadership and Administration, Ana’Neicia’s passion for ongoing learning continues as an adjunct professor at her alma mater.
In observation of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, we had the chance to speak with Ana’Neicia about her life’s work, her passion to serve her community, and how we navigate a tumultuous terrain when access to quality and supportive maternal healthcare is not always a given in the United States.
Can you first tell us a little about your background, and where your career began in the medical field?
I am a three-time Spalding University graduate, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Social Work, and Doctor of Social Work, with specialization in Leadership and Administration. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders my career in the medical field began in 2013 when I started out by serving children, adolescents and families with short-term, intensive family and individual therapy as a community support professional. Over the years I have navigated different areas within the medical field to provide services to an array of people.
Maternal and reproductive care are urgent issues in the United States right now, as we are seeing the harmful impacts of abortion bans, especially among Black, Brown and low-income women. How are you working to address the urgent need with your clients and families?
I believe maternal and reproductive care have always been urgent issues in the United States. 30 years ago, 12 Black women convened and coined the phrase “reproductive justice” as a response to the limitations of choice that existed in 1994. Today we are still seeing how marginalized communities still do not have choices in their reproductive and sexual care.
We must consider that even when Roe v. Wade granted access to abortion it still did not provide the full protection to Black, Brown, and low-income women. Currently I am working to address this urgent need with my clients and families through advocacy and therapeutic care. In therapy I support individuals in processing their experiences that sometimes gets suppressed in the body but has an impact on the mental.
I am assisting individuals in healing their wombs with psychological approaches. Within the community, I advocate at the state level through mobilizing and organizing community members for lobby days and rallies at our state capitol. Within those settings, I bring awareness that the procedure of an abortion is the same procedure for those who experience a miscarriage, and we should not make a distinction of who is deserving of care based on their circumstance or choice.
Can you tell us more about Momology Maternal Wellness Club, LLC and what it offers your clients?
Yes! Momology Maternal Wellness Club, LLC was initially birthed out of the need I saw in mothers having an accessible and safe space to address their overall mental wellness as they navigate preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and parenting. Over the years I have expanded Momology to be more than a therapeutic service agency for individual and group care. We offer workshops, consulting and training because we understand that by investing in the care of mothers, we shape the community to thrive and be well.
Why is maternal and reproductive care important to you personally?
Maternal and reproductive care is important to me personally because of my own story. I didn’t even realize I had a story until I was entrusted to hold the story of others. The individuals that I have served throughout the years have inspired me to look within and explore my own journey of care. Once I did, I identified there were gaps in the care I received navigating the journey of womanhood and motherhood. I have my very own personal experience of depression while I was pregnant which I have shared on my website.
I also have experienced pregnancy loss and am currently navigating my reproductive choice in who I deal with a recent diagnosis of fibroids. As a woman of color with all the knowledge and degrees I still face some of the very same maternal and reproductive health issues my clients do. I couldn’t imagine myself not caring because I know the stories. Being a mother to a daughter who I hope and pray has a maternal and reproductive future of bodily autonomy, choice and safety I am committed to this issue.
There is a huge mental health and wellbeing component to the work you do. Can you explain why this is an important aspect of reproductive and maternal care, that doesn’t get talked about enough?
Yes! I am so glad you acknowledge that mental health and wellbeing does not get talked about enough in reproductive and maternal care. Many individuals, families and communities have been impacted by the injustices that are prevalent in maternal and reproductive care. Whether indirect or direct the system of maternal and reproductive health has caused harm and trauma that lingers in many bodies.
Areas like housing, race, climate, and gender and menstrual equity are just a few it comes to maternal and reproductive care. We must consider that healing must be integrated in practice as we address poor maternal and reproductive outcomes. I believe once mental health and wellness are considered valuable at the policy level it will encourage a model of care that benefits the maternal and reproductive lives of all.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. How do you use your practice to raise awareness about this, and create environments to hold space for those who have experienced loss?
As someone who has personally been impacted by pregnancy loss, I can admit that I originally only utilized my practice as a space on an individual level to hold space to those who grieve. Today I intentionally curate space to offer support groups and informational sessions during the month. Pregnancy loss is so complex and requires collaboration with others to expand the reach.
Social media has served as an opportunity to invite storytellers in to share their personal story of navigating loss and offering connection. I have even partnered with a non-profit to offer pro-bono therapy to Black women who have experienced loss and hosted free holistic wellness events to assist those on their healing journey.
Outside of the mainstream healthcare system, community-based care is more important than ever, especially with access to healthcare being so fractured in the United States. How do you build community and ensure your clients have access to the care and information they need, regardless of their income status, location, etc?
I am a firm believer in collective care which is why I make it my responsibility foster relationships to help build community and ensure my clients have access to the care and information they need. I understand the value of connection and in practice I have witnessed how my clients have personally benefited from my intentionality of working alongside doulas, midwives, holistic care practitioners, gardeners, activists, legislators, childcare providers and more that hold these individuals and families.
We cannot do this work alone and when providers are able to help clients navigate multiple systems and areas of their lives regardless of status, income and location it allows them to show up in families and communities as their best self.
You talk about how incorporating wellness and healing into your practice is the pathway to liberation. Can you share more about this, and why it is important to you?
Incorporating wellness and healing into my practice is the pathway to liberation for all! It is very important to me that I integrate this theology within practice because I understand the history of this country and how it has impacted the marginalized groups I serve. I work with people who come from a family lineage of enslavement and imprisonment that may have been passed from generation to generation. In practice I guide individuals in exploring their family history and we often find a story of oppression that has occurred.
We also find that these same individuals with a family history also have their own personal experience of navigating oppressive systems. These events and experiences can get trapped in our bodies and when they go unaddressed and unhealed it continues to be passed on through the bloodline. The work I do is about allowing individuals, families and communities to get free in the mind and body and with the utilization of a psychological approach we can transform lives and communities.
We often see narratives around maternal and reproductive care being a “woman’s” issue, but it is so much bigger than that. Can you explain how the wellbeing of the whole country and economy is impacted when we have healthy moms and babies, and why more people should be paying attention to this issue?
Once our country realizes we have a collective responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of mothers and babies when it comes to maternal and reproductive care, we will see the return of our investment. When we hold women, it automatically allows us to hold babies. By holding both we have an opportunity to hold the whole family. Families are a part of communities that make up systems. While it’s not just a woman’s issue we need to center them to help the wellbeing of our country.
Economic health and stability of this country relies on women having affordable and accessible reproductive care and families depend on this. There are implications for a woman’s financial well-being, job security, and educational attainment because this country relies on women’s earnings and when they cannot have choice in creating families, raising them in safe and substantial communities it creates ripple effects that harm the entire ecosystem.
You can follow Ana’Neicia on her Instagram account, and learn more about the Momology Maternal Wellness Club on their website.
