Maternal Health Innovation Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center

AIM CCI is encouraging communities to come together using their Maternal Monologues Toolkit, whereby birthing people and their support systems can share their experiences related to the maternal health journey, illuminate what the national maternal health crisis looks like in their own community, and strategize about what they can do to address it. In this episode, Race for Equity's Deitre Epps is joined by Dr. Valerie Newsome Garcia to discuss how to use this toolkit and the importance of community storytelling in understanding and advocating for change in maternal health.

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 create a world in which Black women are heard, respected and cared for in their birthing processes.

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 comprehensive and community-led response to the maternal health crisis is the first ever state led policy platform for birth equity.

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 Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and part of the UNC Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health team to discuss Latina maternal health.

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 doula coverage and the National Health Law Program’s Doula Medicaid Project.

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. In this episode, hosted by Amy Stiffarm—a member of the Aaniiih White Clay Tribe of Fort Belknap—learn about how Indigenous communities access healthcare and the uniquities of their maternal health needs.