Portrayals of Black Maternal Health in Canadian News Media

Objectives: To analyze how often Canadian news media reference systemic factors, access to services and differences in care in their coverage of Black maternal health in order to determine whether the valence of these portrayals support or hinder maternal health equity in Canada. Background: News media play a critical role in shaping public understanding of race-based health disparities, especially in the absence of disaggregated race-based data that conceals the diversity of Black experiences. One area where this influence matters is Black maternal health, as Black women in Canada face higher maternal risks and underutilize mental health services. While research has examined these disparities in care, media representations remain underexamined. This study addresses that gap by analyzing how Canadian news discourse represents Black maternal health to evaluate how cultural narratives in news media support or undermine maternal health equity. Methods: This study conducted a qualitative content analysis of four news articles from major Canadian outlets, selected for their relevance to Black maternal health. Independent reviewers coded each article for the presence of five predefined themes: systemic factors in healthcare, maternal care differences, support to maternal health equity, hindrance to maternal health equity and Black voices represented. Coded results were compared to determine consensus, guided by a pre-designed flowchart, to compare and finalize the coded data for consistency and reliability across all articles. Results: After coding four Canadian news articles, systemic factors were referenced most frequently (M=3.5, SD=0.84), while the frequency of maternal care disparity mentions varied more widely (M =3.19, SD=1.01). Coders reached full consensus that all articles referenced systemic factors, represented Black voices and supported maternal health equity. Consensus on the presence of maternal care disparities emerged in only 3 of the 4 articles Conclusions: While systemic factors are consistently acknowledged in Canadian news media, there is less consistent coverage of maternal care disparities that may limit public understanding of specific healthcare challenges faced by Black mothers. Future research with a larger sample size of articles is needed to explore media portrayal trends.