Maternal Health Innovation

In 2017, Dr. Shalon Irving passed away after complications from giving birth to her daughter. A passionate trailblazer for community health, her legacy inspired the Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project, which works to address inequities and disparities for the Black women and women of color in maternal health. In this episode, learn more about Dr. Shalon's legacy and how MAP is on a mission to cre...

In this special episode, Maternal Health Innovation is teaming up with AMCHP's MCH Bridges podcast to bring you this episode on maternal health policy successes, challenges and opportunities while discussing Colorado's recent passing of the Birth Equity Bill Package. A series of three bills designed to increase access to decrease inequities in and overall improve obstetric care in the state, this...

Language matters. Body language matters. Accessibility matters. Inclusivity and equity should be at the heart of all maternal healthcare touchpoints. In this episode, Fernanda Ochoa Toro, research coordinator at UNC Chapel Hill and a patient navigator for Spanish speaking patients at UNC Health sits down with Dr. Kristin Tully, research assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynec...

While several states are in the process of implementing Medicaid coverage for doula services, only a handful of states are actively providing that coverage. In this episode, host Deitre Epps, founder and CEO of Race for Equity, is joined by Averjill Rookwood, founder of The Corporate Doula, and Amy Chen, senior attorney at the National Health Law Program, to discuss the importance of accessible do...

Indigenous communities have unique respect and traditions for bringing life into the world, but Indigenous women are three to four times more likely to die of complications related to pregnancy or childbirth than white women. A trained physician and member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Dr. Donald Warne is working to address those disparities through Indigenous medicine....

After a difficult pregnancy and postpartum journey of her own, Ana Rodney founded MOMCares, a postpartum doula program designed to help support Black mothers in the NICU that are under-supported and facing financial stress. Ana is also chair of Baltimore's Maternal Mortality Review Board and a member of the Infant Mortality Review Board, and she's noticed a difference between the two: one is compo...

Dr. Kira Schabram studies burnout as it relates to employees who view their work as a calling, as many healthcare workers do. So, how can you remind yourself that you're in the right place when you feel drained? In this episode, learn the signs of burnout to look out for and how to bounce-back from feelings of tiredness and cynicism in your work. Learn more about us, explore our resource center an...

From the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Ellen Pliska and Britta Cedergren know that preventing maternal mortality and morbidity is crucial to promoting health across lifespan. Hosted by UNC Gillings School of Public Health’s Dr. Sarah Verbiest, this episode discusses the ways in which public health is succeeding, lacking and changing in its ways of supporting birthing peopl...

Season two episodes of Maternal Health Innovation episodes will be released weekly. This season, we're including topics about provider burnout, public health, and sharing experiences and creating policies that are helping propel maternal health toward a better future in the U.S. Episode one is out now, so be sure to tune in! Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all...

In this episode, Erin McClain, assistant director at the UNC Collaborative of Infant and Maternal Health, is diving deep into the disparities Black birthing people face in care and education. Joined by Dr. Tanya Bass, an award-winning educator on sexual health and health inequities, the two discuss the challenges and—most importantly—what we can do as care providers and community leaders to improv...

RMOMS is a federally funded grant program that seeks to improve maternal health in rural communities. The Texas and Missouri RMOMS representatives with us today that you'll hear from our awardees of the initial pilot between the federal Office of Rural Health Policy and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Today, we discuss innovative solutions these teams are implementing to address issues facin...

For true innovation in maternal health to occur, we need to take a look at what works (and what needs improving) with maternal health in various cultures. On this episode, we discuss learning from tribal and indigenous cultures, and the programs and trainings involved. Today's guests are Heidi Christensen and Lynn Lane, Maternal Health Innovation Program Managers at Arizona Department of Health Se...

Vanessa Caldari founded Mujeres Ayudando Madres  because she I realized that midwifery care, especially in Puerto Rico, was really for people with access to the finances and the education to have that care. She didn't want midwifery care to be a privilege, so she did something about it. Vanessa Caldari is the founder of Mujeres Ayudando Madres , a nonprofit in Puerto Rico that supports birthing pe...

In the Appalachian region, poverty is a huge concern. Too often, pregnant women miss appointments because they don't have the money for gas. Or they'll have a baby on Thursday and return to work on Monday because they need the paycheck. And breastfeeding can be seen as for "hillbillies" or "rednecks." For our guests today, they saw the problem and found a way to help - a hotline to address transpo...

Black women have twice the rate of preterm birth compared to white women, and that has persisted despite decades of research, despite differences in socioeconomic status, maternal education, access to prenatal care. When you pair or look at a Black woman and a white woman who are pregnant, the Black woman will have their baby early at twice the rate of white women. Nurse midwife, mindfulness teach...

Eight years ago, when To-wen Tseng returned to work after giving birth to her first child, her right to pump at work was denied and the company refused to provide either a space or a break time to pump ( lawsuit ). Stevie Merino ( Birthworkers of Color Collective ) is a doula and lactation professional whose graduate school research focuses on Pacific Islander and Chamorro breastfeeding, chest fee...

The sad reality is that people in rural communities don't have as many resources to healthcare, and that includes adequate prenatal and maternity care. For Shaunette Howard , her biggest role is advocating for birthing people and their families so that they can get as many of the necessary resources as possible. Today's episode is hosted by Dr. Kristin Tully, co-chair of the MHLIC Innovation Suppo...

According to today's guest, Dr. Rachel Caskey, "stark disparities exist whereby Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related condition compared to white women. In addition, it is estimated that the majority of deaths are actually preventable."  Today, we talk about what can be done to fix these inequities and disparities. Dr. Rachel Caskey is the chief of the divi...

For Birth Sisters Doula Services ' LaToshia Rouse, becoming a doula changed her entire life because she gets to give people exactly what she wishes she had while delivering her 4 children (including triplets). According to LaToshia, "the reward is instant. It's addictive and you get to do it again and again, and you keep hearing the stories."  But unfortunaely, there's a dark side to stories, whic...

Join us as we speak with experts about ways we can better serve women and birthing people and advance maternal health equity. From what is going well to what needs to be done to improve our health outcomes, we will share innovative work, new strategies, and impactful stories from people who are changing birthing care for families in our country. Learn more about us, explore our resource center and...