Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez

Photo by Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Image
When my son was born, he had severe hydronephrosis — fluid on the kidneys — and was quickly transported to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Like any parent, I hoped he would receive the best possible care in a critical setting. But a recent study has found disparities in treatment of Black infants in the NICU.
The study, "Racial Segregation and Inequality in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for Very Low-Birth-Weight and Very Preter...

I can remember the first time I left my son with a sitter. I wanted picture messages at 30-minute intervals and regular updates. I said it was to see how he was adjusting, but we all know it was all about me. Those updates made our first movie date after my son was born suck pretty bad, but it made me a lot more comfortable as a mother.
Leaving your baby for the first time is terrifying. It's even scarier when she’s being left with someone and you're unsure if they know what they need to do. ...

After years of suffering from mysterious symptoms, my mother Janice Thomas finally found a doctor who correctly diagnosed her with two autoimmune diseases, Lupus and Sjogren's. Both diseases are more prevalent in the black population than in other races and are often misdiagnosed.
The National Institutes of Health has found that minorities make up less than 10 percent of trial participants.
Like many chronic health conditions, a lack of understanding persists about their causes, individual ma...

Starting last week, Lifetime Network has been showing a six-episode docu-series titled “Surviving R. Kelly” that gives more details about what many of us have been saying for years: Robert Kelly is a serial rapist. For many Black women, the last few days have seen a blur of unintentional (and intentional) denials of our reality and triggering social media posts.
The de-prioritization of Black women’s and girls’ experiences isn’t new to us.
My mind cannot help but drift to the lack of outrage ...

How we see the world shapes who we choose to be — and sharing compelling experiences can frame the way we treat each other, for the better. This is a powerful perspective.
The night before giving birth, a relative contacted me with a list of must-do’s.
“Don’t forget to shave. You don’t want to go into labor looking like a wolfman,” she reminded me. Her intention was helping me combat any prebirth memory lapses.
But she didn’t know I hadn’t shaved the entire pregnancy and had no intention of s...

When Imani Bates, 31, realized she had lost control over her pelvic and gluteal muscles shortly after giving birth, she felt profoundly disconnected from her body.
“I woke up and I couldn’t move them,” she says.“They were in complete paralysis. I panicked.”
Adjusting to dramatic physical changes so soon after birth triggered feelings of ineptitude for Bates, and catalyzed the onset of postpartum depression. “I began crying and blaming myself for having a natural, vaginal birth,” she recalls.“...

Looking at my newborn daughter is enough to bring tears to my eyes. Although she is just one month old, her personality and zest for life already shine through. But the headlines I’m seeing in the news these days have given me something to fear. As we move through the process of exposing those who have committed sexual abuse in the Me Too era, I wonder what her future as a young black girl will bring.
There’s already so much research that shows black girls are perceived as less innocent than ...

It’s Prematurity Awareness Month, but it’s the first time I’ve ever paid attention. Previously I’d heard discussions around preemies and even had a couple of them in my own family. But I didn’t understand the implications of what it means to be born premature until recently.
During my first pregnancy, I believed that the No. 1 predictor for my birth experience would be the amount of research I did. I expected the second predictor to be my willingness to adapt to change as a parent. I was in m...

Our guest blogger Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez is expecting - and she's sharing her plan to ensure her daughter lives a body positive life.
The bond between mother and daughter is one I have seen exalted - and commercialized - for as long as I could remember. Your daughter is your “mini-me”, and the portrayal of that relationship has often felt fetishized. But when I found out I was expecting a girl, I was more fearful than excited.
The romanticized images are cute, but I’m afraid of the respons...

Why are some Black menstruators so disgusted by menstrual cups?
In this op-ed, A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez explores why Black people see more averse to alternative menstrual management methods, like the menstrual cup.
Growing up, no one ever explicitly told me not to talk about my period out loud. But it always felt clearly implied. In the event it was necessary, it was definitely inappropriate for “mixed company.”
Menstruation wasn’t something you celebrated. At the same time, it wasn’t som...

How we see the world shapes who we choose to be — and sharing compelling experiences can frame the way we treat each other, for the better. This is a powerful perspective.
During her time in the White House, former first lady Michelle Obama brought Black women’s narratives and unique experiences into the spotlight.
Now, Obama continues to shed light on Black women’s experiences. In her new book, “Becoming,” she reveals that she had a miscarriage and used in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to concei...

(Editor’s note: This content is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, a Next Avenue sponsor.)
Jodi Savage was her grandmother’s caretaker in her last days. Like many black Americans, her grandmother’s cultural beliefs and religious background led to very little discussion around the end of life. Culturally speaking, black Americans on the whole tend to avoid discussing end-of-life topics for fear of speaking things into existence. Focus is placed on making the best of the time you’re g...

Shortly after graduating from college, I moved in with my grandparents. My grandmother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and I was in need of housing. So I temporarily became one of her caregivers. My stint in caretaking only lasted a few months before I moved across the country to be with my fiance, but it was an experience I will never forget.
Going into it, I imagined myself helping with shopping and food prep and offering medication reminders, all of which I ended up doing. But what I ...