| Abstrakt: |
Perinatal health in the United States is plagued by persistent and pervasive racial and socioeconomic disparities. Although many researchers and health professionals have committed to eliminating these long-lasting disparities, not all women benefit from research and intervention efforts equally. The social work perspective, which emphasizes diversity, cultural competency, and healthy families, once served as a central force in combating structural inequities and associated perinatal health adversity. This article argues that, despite the fact that contemporary social work no longer places a heavy emphasis on structural barriers to optimal and equitable perinatal health, the profession's core values make social workers particularly well-equipped to champion maternal and infant health disparities. Given this potential, this commentary calls for social work to reinvigorate its focus and discusses the ways in which social workers can draw from their professional knowledge, training, and experience to help promote health equity for new mothers and babies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
