Systemic problems can make Black moms more susceptible to burnout. Their resilience doesn’t negate the need for more support.

IN THIS ARTICLE

• What burnout challenges do Black moms face?
• How does burnout affect Black moms?
• How Black moms can address burnout
• Where can Black moms get the help they need to address burnout?

Dr. Gabrielle Jones, a licensed psychologist and mother of one, was oblivious to her own burnout until she experienced stress-induced bleeding while 15 weeks pregnant, followed by two pulmonary embolisms at the five-month mark. Fortunately, her baby was fine, but Jones realized she was doing way too much.

“It’s almost as though the allostatic stress that Black moms face had to get out of my body,” she says. “I was so stressed at work, and it was showing up in my pregnancy.”

Allostatic stress is the cumulative burden of chronic stress and life events, and it can have physical health consequences.^[1]In general, the environmental stress — often stemming from systemic inequities and racism — that Black people face can lead to more wear and tear on the body.^[2]

Here’s how burnout can uniquely affect Black moms, plus ways to help combat it…