Upcoming Events
oct
19
2023
Maternal Health Equity Collaborative
Kelene Blake
Executive Director, Black Mamas ATX
Morgan Miles
Executive Director, Giving Austin Labor Support
Nakeenya Wilson
Strategic Advisor to Funders for Birth Justice and Equity and co-founder, Maternal Health Equity Collaborative
2:00 – 3:30 PM ET | virtual
Event Description
The Maternal Health Equity Collaborative was formed in Austin, TX during the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown when hospitals stopped allowing Doulas to attend births. These leaders came together to create a solution in which Doulas could again support birthing people in the hospital setting. From there they advocated for the unique needs of pregnant people, especially Black and brown people, during Covid, by partnering to release the Maternal Health Equity Report in September 2020. The Maternal Health Equity Collaborative then achieved a Safer Childbirth City grant from Merck for Mothers and Pritzker Children’s Initiative and released The Spirit of Possibility, a report identifying the equity gaps in care across Central Texas and providing recommendations to fix them. The presenters will talk about the community-based leadership and strengths that, combined with philanthropic support, went into the creation of this impactful community-based Collaborative.
nov
16
2023
Birth Equity Funders Landscape Report
Rebecca Furst-Nichols and Alexandra Gertz
Afton Bloom
Betsy McNamara and Nakeenya Wilson
Strategic Advisors to Funders for Birth Justice and Equity
2:00 – 3:30 PM ET | virtual
Event Description
There is increasing interest on the part of funders and donors in addressing the systemic inequities in birth outcomes and causes of the increasing maternal mortality and morbidity rates. To better understand the funder landscape Funders for Birth Justice and Equity engaged Afton Bloom to conduct the first Birth Equity Funders Landscape report. The Landscape sought to answer these three questions: Who is funding, what are they funding, and how are they funding. Fifty-seven funders and donors responded to the survey and in this session Funders for Birth Justice and Equity will present on the findings.
Revisit Our Past Events
Reproductive Health Impact
Monthly Learning Series | September 2023
Delivering Better Care: Midwifery Practice in New Jersey
Monthly Learning Series | May 2023
Advancing Racial Equity in Maternal-Child Health
Monthly Learning Series | April 2023
The Intersectionality of Birth Justice
Monthly Learning Series | March 2023
Mamatoto Village
Monthly Learning Series | February 2023
Birthing, Blackness, and the Body
Monthly Learning Series | January 2023
Kiara Cruz is Senior Research Analyst with the Research and Strategy Team at Reproductive Health Impact. She is also a doctoral candidate who has expertise in centering Black and Brown women’s experiences to illuminate and identify how systems work to reinforce and create overlapping layers of hardship. She has nearly 10 years of experience working with public health agencies, community-based organizations, and non-profit organizations to address and dismantle maternal health inequities embedded in our healthcare and public health systems. She is the Research Director with the Research & Strategy Team at Reproductive Health Impact.
Susan Perez is a health services researcher whose research focuses on centering the voices, needs and experiences of birthing people in policy, education, and quality improvement. She has collaborated with the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the California Healthcare Foundation, and the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative to address health inequities through multifaceted approaches such as, measure development, health education campaigns, and provider education and tools. She is a research consultant with the Research & Strategy Team at Reproductive Health Impact.