Grounding the Work of Grassroots MCH Leaders in Storytelling

Abstract

Our Grassroots Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Initiative works to build the capacity of individuals and organizations in zip codes with persistently high infant mortality rates to bring about systems change that will improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes. Foundational to the Initiative is the training and mentoring of local women to become Grassroots MCH Leaders. We greatly honor that these women possess community expertise, essential to the Initiative’s success. Our training equips them with strategies they can use to bring about changes in social, economic, political, and/or cultural systems that underlie poor birth outcomes. One impactful strategy they learn is the use of critical narrative intervention (CNI). This approach, grounded in the crafting and sharing of stories, complements statistical, behavioral, and medical approaches to improve MCH outcomes. This article describes the impact of CNI within the Grassroots MCH Initiative. Drawing from 14 Grassroots MCH Leaders’ narratives, we present five significant maternal traumas and influential supports in their surrounding contexts. We explore the leaders’ reflections on the impact of story development and dissemination. Our findings reveal that situating CNI within the context of a grassroots initiative provides opportunities for leaders to use their stories to advocate for systems change. Personal MCH narratives provide a powerful and respectful approach to public health promotion, as they highlight important systems-level failures that need to be addressed to sustainability improve MCH outcomes.

Supporting the Development of Grassroots Maternal and Childhood Health Leaders through a Public-Health-Informed Training Program

“…Other examples of priorities generated by the grassroots leaders included connecting with organizations that focused on housing [31], the justice system [32], and faith-based organizations [33] to reach women in the community who were at risk of adverse birth outcomes. When MCH decision makers heard the grassroots leaders' stories and realized the powerful connections that the grassroots leaders have with their communities [34], the MCH decision makers began to invite, and continue to invite, grassroots leaders to participate in decision-making committees or panels. Although network connections and opportunities were facilitated by the GMCHL research team and program staff, the grassroots leaders had a large role in driving the direction of the initiative.…”