Resources
Maternal Optimization in Massachusetts
The Be a MOM study aims to better understand and prevent racial differences in pregnancy-related outcomes. It hopes to use participants’ experience to learn about barriers to improving the quality of maternal care. The study seeks to learn about how including doula care in efforts to improve the quality of maternal care affects pregnancy-related outcomes of Black women. The ultimate goal is to provide the foundation to create future interventions aimed at improving maternal health and ultimately reducing racial differences in maternal outcomes.
The Only Birth App You’ll Ever Need
Birth By Us is a mobile application created by two Black women passionate about employing technology to solve the maternal health crisis and empower expectant parents to shape their own birthing experience while giving providers the insights and data to best support their birth.
For parents, the app provides tailored check-ins at sequential points in your pregnancy to give you personalized health insights and top-tier resources, specific to your pregnancy, helping you stay afloat even as normal starts to shift. BBU will also help you stay connected with everyone from your provider to your doula to your partner, keeping them updated on your goals and key health stats.
For providers, BBU takes the guess-work out of improvement by turning your patient feedback into easily-understandable, routine quality reports placed side-by-side with the right set of resources to help you make the changes that matter most. In addition, BBU helps you provide the most individualized care possible by connecting your patients with a robust directory of personalized resources to help them along their birth journey.
The Role of Policy in Addressing Black Maternal health
The Black Maternal Health annual conference at TUSM aims to raise awareness, activism, and community building for Black mothers in order to bring attention to the state of Black maternal health in the United States. The 1st Annual Black Maternal Health Conference took place on Friday, April 13th , 2018 at Tufts University School of Medicine. Attendees came from various backgrounds ranging from academia, the health care field, and even non-profits in the Greater Boston area. The 2020 and 2021 conferences were held virtually and had over 1000+ attendees registered. Speakers for past conferences have included renowned midwife and public health professional Shafia Monroe – better known as Mama Shafia, Dr. Monica McLemore, and others.
Building on a number of previous conferences, this year’s conference theme is titled The Role of Policy in Addressing Black Maternal Health, and will bring together members of the community, health care professionals, policy makers at the local, state, and national levels and students dedicated to ending the adverse maternal health outcomes faced by Black women both in the greater Boston area and across the country. Participants at this year’s conference can expect to explore the profound effects that policies can have on addressing maternal health disparities to decrease the disproportionately high Black maternal mortality rate.
Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research Laboratory at Tufts University
M.O.T.H.E.R. Lab also known as the Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research lab was founded in July 2020 by Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health at Tufts University School of Medicine. MOTHER Lab is the largest research lab in the United States, boasting over 30+ members focused on addressing and eradicating maternal inequities for Black women. It is also the foundational hub for creating one of the nation’s largest Black maternal health conferences.
The mission of MOTHER Lab is to address and eradicate inequities Black women face, through research, advocacy, and mentorship by confronting and dismantling the system that enables and perpetuates racism for Black women who give birth. The vision of MOTHER Lab is to create a world where all Black women who want to become mothers can efficiently and comfortably receive equitable access to the same high caliber healthcare services as other women without their concerns being dismissed. A world where black women do not face maternal health complications due to racism, homophobia and/or sexism throughout their lives or throughout their pregnancies.
This podcast is an extension of the work of the MOTHER lab that seeks to address and advocate for maternal health inequities at the local and national level. Join us in conversations about maternal health inequities and reproductive battles plaguing the world, as we address the inequities that Black women face daily in the health care sector.