The Empowerment Foundation

Amplifying the Voices of Pregnant & Postpartum Black Women

Introduction

In partnership with The Empowerment Foundation, Cortico supported a listening initiative to center the lived experiences of Black women navigating prenatal and postpartum care in Cincinnati. This project aimed to elevate their stories beyond just data points, surfacing powerful narratives of resilience, insight, and advocacy. Using Cortico’s conversation tools and process, The Empowerment Foundation amplified these underheard voices to help inform systemic change in maternal health.

Challenge: from disparities to dialogue

Black women in the U.S. face stark disparities in maternal health outcomes. Too often, their experiences are left out of healthcare conversations or reduced to statistics. The Empowerment Foundation set out to change that—by creating intentional, culturally grounded spaces where Black women could speak openly about their journeys and hopes for care that affirms and supports them.

Solution: listening, sharing, and shaping change
With support from Cortico, The Empowerment Foundation hosted 12 recorded small-group conversations with 31 Black women. These sessions invited participants to reflect on topics from delivery and postpartum care to breastfeeding and the first year of parenting. Rather than relying on traditional surveys, the project embraced oral storytelling—a practice rooted in Black culture—to honor the depth and nuance of each story.

Through Cortico’s sensemaking process, nine core themes were identified, and a collection of audio highlights was curated into a public portal that brings these voices to life.

Result: a foundation for advocacy

“As a result of this project, we were able to directly amplify the voices of Black mothers in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. By capturing their lived experiences, we gained invaluable insights that are critical for advocating for improved maternal healthcare policies and practices. In short, this project has made it possible to leverage Black mothers’ voices as a powerful tool for creating long-term, systemic change in maternal health, ” Dr. Corinn Taylor, CEO & Founder, The Empowerment Foundation

More than a collection of stories, the resulting portal serves as a tool for those working to advance equity in maternal health. Built from real voices, it is both a testament to what Black women endure and a call to action for healthcare systems, policy leaders, and advocates. From conversation outreach to analysis, the project was rooted in care, respect, and community power—and now serves as a model to use listening as a tool for equity.