Artist's narrative

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             This artwork depicts a black baby nestled in a NICU bed and his mother’s hand in the background, trying to reach in. Based on undergraduate researcher Grace Li’s work, the rate of preterm births appears to be around 53% higher for black women than white women, which significantly increases the chance of infant mortality or health issues for black infants, giving them a high chance of needing intensive care. This difficult situation is compounded by another aspect of Grace’s research, which revolves around the basis that black mothers are less likely to breastfeed. Considering the nutritional/health benefits of breast milk for both the baby and the mother, it’s a point of concern that the isolation and physical fragility of NICU babies makes breastfeeding very difficult, not to mention the health struggles of the mother. This piece attempts to primarily illustrate the physical and emotional detachment that NICU mothers must endure. While the mother is able to infiltrate the walls of the bed through the arm hole, the barriers still remain. This lack of parental attachment is further demonstrated by how the black infant’s back is facing his mother, taking milk from a feeding tube instead of from his mother’s breast.