Contribution short abstract:

This proposal explores Black commoning through the lens of Black pregnant bodies and lived experiences with Black midwives in pre- and post-natal care. As a niche of Black reproductive experience in Germany and Switzerland, I will explore Black midwifery – or the lack thereof.

Contribution long abstract:

“Meanwhile they had to keep body and soul together somehow” (Emecheta, 1979, p.100)

Black women face disproportionately high rates of adverse reproductive outcomes, including miscarriages, preterm births, and higher rates of maternal mortality (Davis, 2020).

According to Rainford (2023), Black obstetric and gynaecological staff and Black midwives, however, hold the opportunity to change the otherwise adverse pregnancy and birth experiences of Black individuals. My contribution to this panel will discuss the

work of Black midwives and their care for Black pregnant bodies.

This will demonstrate how Black midwives promote a sense of self, agency and power of the body despite the intersecting injustices based on race, gender and class. In doing so, Black midwives provide pre- and post-natal care and practice forms of

commoning that support the reproduction of Black (social) lives and experiences.

This analysis of caring for Black (pregnant) bodies offers an “intuitive and sensory dimension” (Davis, 2020, p.58) of embodied experiences, stressing the layers of affective experiences that accumulate and intensify when “pregnant while Black”

(Rainford, 2023).

Against the backdrop of ongoing colonization and marginalization of Black birthing individuals, this contribution will examine the nexus between Black pregnant bodies and the potential and futures of Black Midwifery as a way of commoning Black

reproduction.