Black Breastfeeding Week 2023: Fireside Chat with Kenn Harris

The involvement of Black expectant fathers during pregnancy is integral to healthy birth outcomes for their partner, however, they are usually left out of the Black Maternal and Infant Health conversation. Add on the burden of a partner’s poor maternal outcome or even worse, maternal death, there is little thought of acknowledging how these traumatic occurrences impact their lives. Kenn Harris, a national expert in the field of maternal and child health, public health, fatherhood/ male involvement and community engagement and who worked on “My Brother’s Keeper”, President Obama’s initiative to address the health of boys and men of color, led the Fireside Chat centering Black fathers and exploring the effects of structural racism on maternal infant health and their implications for father’s engagement.