Date of Award

12-2019

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Family and Consumer Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. Kimberly Doudna

Second Advisor

Dr. Karen Blaisure

Third Advisor

Dr. Jou-Chen Chen

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Crystal Duncan-Lane

Keywords

Black, prenatal, coparenting, participatory, stress

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Despite having the highest infant mortality rate of similarly developed nations, infant mortality rates have trended downward in the United States, however, the infant mortality disparity between Black and White infants persists. The causes of the disparity have been traced to social considerations of the mother especially while pregnant. These social situations include racism and discrimination, marital status of the mother, social support and pregnancy intentions, pointing to one commonality: stress. Using Boss and colleagues 2017 Conceptual Model of Family Stress, this study proposes a solution to address some of the social support, or resources, available to the expectant mother; a collaboratively designed prenatal coparenting class. This study explores two questions about this proposed resource. If a prenatal coparenting class was designed to provide the social support and perceived self-efficacy that expectant mothers at increased risk of infant mortality need, what educational content should the resource include and what is the desired delivery format of the resource? Unmarried black expectant mothers and prenatal service providers were surveyed in three Michigan cities to determine unmet educational needs. Expectant mothers also had the option to participate in a focus group or interview to share preferences about the delivery format of a prenatal education class. A recruitment strategy for a purposive sample was tested using prenatal service providers as means of reaching the intended expectant mother population.

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