Date of Award

6-26-2026

Date Published

July 2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Professional Studies

Department

Human Development and Family Science

Advisor(s)

Deborah Coolhart

Keywords

Black women;Breastfeed;Parent;Partner;Postpartum;Sexual

Abstract

Black women in the United States experience significant disparities in maternal health outcomes; however, much of the existing research has focused on biomedical indicators and risk-based frameworks rather than the lived realities of postpartum life. This study addresses this gap by centering Black women’s embodied and relational postpartum experiences, with particular attention to breastfeeding, sexual functioning, partnered relationships, support, and mental health. Guided by Black Feminist Theory and Reproductive Justice, this research explores how Black women interpret and make meaning of postpartum life within relational, cultural, and structural contexts. Using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with Black women reflecting on their postpartum experiences. IPA was selected to privilege participants’ lived-experiences and the interpretive processes through which meaning is constructed. The analysis focused on how participants understood bodily changes, caregiving responsibilities, relational dynamics, and emotional shifts during the postpartum period. Findings revealed postpartum life as an embodied and relational process characterized by sustained labor, shifting identities, and ongoing renegotiation of self and relationships. Breastfeeding emerged as both physically demanding and symbolically meaningful, often experienced as a moral and caregiving responsibility concentrated within the maternal body. Sexual functioning was frequently described as uncertain and under-supported, requiring relational negotiation and personal interpretation in the absence of clear guidance. Participants identified partners, doulas, and other Black mothers as critical sources of emotional safety and validation, while institutional support was often experienced as fragmented or insufficient. Across themes, postpartum life was understood not as a discrete phase but as an ongoing process of shifting from reclamation to recalibration and identity re-authoring. This study contributes to maternal health scholarship by foregrounding Black women’s voices as sources of knowledge rather than sites of intervention. By centering embodiment, relationality, and meaning-making, the findings expand understanding of postpartum life beyond deficit-oriented or outcome-based frameworks. The research invites clinicians, researchers, and healthcare systems to listen more closely to Black women’s lived-experiences and to consider postpartum well-being as a complex, relational, and evolving process. Keywords: Black women, postpartum experience, breastfeeding, sexual functioning, partnering, parenting, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Black Feminist Theory, Reproductive Justice

Access

Open Access

Download

Available for download on Tuesday, July 20, 2027

Share

COinS