Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Kanita Bourne, Manager of Social and Community Services within the Community Behavioral Department at IEHP. Welcome back. I'm so happy you're back.
Kanita Bourne
I'm so glad to be back here talking to you about all of the wonderful things that it's happening in the Black IE.
Maya Gwynn
Well, I just want to say personally, your episode was really, really popular amongst people in my life. It was a way for me to talk about Black maternal health within my own family that a lot of my friends didn't even know about. So I so appreciate you coming back.
Kanita Bourne
I love that so much. Thank you for telling me that. You know, I always wonder how things resonate with people, whatever I put out there. So it's lovely to hear that. So thank you.
Maya Gwynn
So appreciate you coming back. But last time you were here, we talked about an upcoming Black maternal health event within IEHP, and now you're here to talk about a series that you co-created on YouTube called Healthy Conversations Black Maternal Health. Why was it important for you to center the series specifically on Black maternal health, especially in the Inland Empire?
Kanita Bourne
My rule of thumb is, if you address the issues or the disparities with the individuals who are having the most challenges, then everybody is able to get healthier, right? So to that end, I thought it was really important to talk about all of the disparities when it comes to black maternal health, because hopefully everybody knows that in this country, black pregnant people have the worst possible outcomes, right? So let's do a couple things. Let's educate everyone else who's not black about what is going on in this population. And let's also educate this population about what's going on with their health.
Maya Gwynn
Last time you were here, we talked about the statistics around black maternal health, and one thing that you said, America is a horrible place to give birth. And we also talked about the alarming statistics that black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. How do you feel like they approach talking about the realities in a way that informs but also empowers in the series?
Kanita Bourne
That's a great question, because, yes, I still stand by America is a horrible place to give birth, because our statistics are off the chart in a terrible way, and they normalize the fear of being black and giving birth in this country. Erica, who is a licensed clinical social worker, she talks a little bit about her experience birthing and then looking to find a midwife and having a home birth after she had a not so great experience. To that end, it feels very empowering, right? Because a lot of times we feel like this is my provider. I have to stick with my provider, even though they're not listening to me. It doesn't seem like I'm connecting. But to hear somebody say, oh, I didn't really like how I was being treated. Let me get up and go somewhere else. That feels empowering. Our nurse educator, who was pregnant, she talks about how she did her own research about, I think it was preeclampsia she was talking about. And she said, You know, I asked my doctor about taking baby aspirin, right? And I think when people hear and understand, oh, wait, I can do research, I can look into things that are typical for pregnant people, and I can advocate for myself with my doctor, I think that feels very empowering. So if nothing else, this series gives people permission to advocate for their own healthcare.
Maya Gwynn
Definitely, and a sense of community, I'm sure. This is a two-part question. In the first episode, they discuss gestational diabetes. What are some of the key misconceptions people have about that? And the second part, what can viewers expect from upcoming episodes, and what are topics that you guys as a whole are most excited to bring to the forefront?
Kanita Bourne
Oh, great question. So I want to remind everybody and you that I am a social worker, I am not a medical professional, only on the mental health side. So gestational diabetes - I think a lot of people have the misconception that if you have gestational diabetes, you will have diabetes forever, and that's not the case. They do talk a bit about that. They do say that it's possible that you can develop diabetes afterwards and have type two diabetes, but it doesn't mean that you have to have it forever. So I think that is a misconception that is kind of put to rest in this series. What are some other things we can expect? They talked about preeclampsia. I thought it was so interesting, because you always hear preeclampsia, but eclampsia, apparently, from watching them record the series, is the big one. And then you also can have a post eclampsia after you have the baby. So that that was really interesting to hear them talk about. I mean, I honestly - you asked, what are we excited to bring out? So one of the episodes that came out talked about depression, postpartum depression, and how it looks in a black woman. And our marketing team, they did come and talk to me and said, you know, like this, this one went viral, and you have so many comments under it, saying, oh, my goodness, I got depressed and I got two degrees. Because for black women, a lot of times we over perform when we get depressed. I love, love, love that episode, because it normalizes black women feeling like they have to do something, right? Over perform. So I would love to have a little bit more conversations about that and how it shows up in black women. I would also love to have the conversations of how black women get to a place where they no longer feel the need to over perform. And, you know, I think that series would be a fantastic series, right? We want to talk a bit about or a lot about, the partner, right? And I say partner, because every family is not a heterosexual couple, but there's a misconception in the black community that all pregnant black women are single, and that could not be further from the truth. So we do want to talk about what it looks like to have a supportive partner, and how they help black women through birth and advocating for their partner and the strength of the black family. So that's something that we would love to talk about as well. And then also some of the misconceptions about vaccines for children, black children. Because, you know, we all, we all have our thoughts about vaccinations and what that means to be black and vaccinate your kids and flu shots and things like that. So we would love to talk a little bit more about that as well.
Maya Gwynn
Wow. This is an incredible series. I'm excited to watch it. We're gonna transition to our rapid fire portion. If your work had a theme song, would it be?
Kanita Bourne
What's coming up for me in my head right now, which I'm like, how is this a work theme song? Is Whitney Houston, I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Because dancing, for me, is joy. And as I'm talking to you, and I'm talking about this series, even though Black maternal health, the statistics are bad, I think the fact that we can talk about it, we're at a place where, in this life, it's safe enough for us to talk about what's going on with us, even if it's not good. That's joyous to me, and Black joy to me is extremely important. So yeah, I'm gonna stick with that one.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, Black joy is a form of resistance, for sure. And if you have to teach a master class or give a TED talk on a random skill you have besides the work you do already, what would it be?
Kanita Bourne
My TED Talk would be the world according to Harry Potter.
Maya Gwynn
Okay, not expecting that. And we usually do a different question for the last question, but this time, what house do you belong to? I'm Ravenclaw.
Kanita Bourne
Are you Ravenclaw? I mean Harry and I have the same birthday, so I am absolutely a Gryffindor.
Maya Gwynn
I love that. And how can people find this series?
Kanita Bourne
So it is on YouTube. Our YouTube I believe is just IEHP.
Maya Gwynn
Awesome. Thank you so much for coming back.
Kanita Bourne
Thank you for having me back. It's always fun talking to you.
Maya Gwynn
Same. Kanita Bourne is Manager of Social and Community Services within the Community Behavior Health Department at IEHP. Find this segment and others at kvcrnews.org/bpie. Support for this segment comes from the M.E.C.C.A. IE Fund at the Inland Empire Community Foundation, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments and black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn, thank you.
