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About the Mamas 4 Life Maternal Health Campaign
Over 60% of maternal deaths are preventable. The United States has the highest rate of maternal deaths compared to other high-income countries. In particular Black and brown women are carrying the burden of this crisis. The maternal mortality rate for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) women in the United States is 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to 19.1 deaths for white Women. These disparities experienced by BIPOC women are made worse by systematic failures in our communities and health systems to protect and nurture BIPOC women during their birthing journey.
The Mamas 4 Life maternal health campaign aims to raise awareness about the maternal mortality disparities experienced by BIPOC women and bring attention to the role that doulas and midwives play in improving health outcomes for both mother and baby. While they may have different roles, both doulas and midwives provide crucial support for mothers, advocate on their behalf, and have been proven to improve maternal health outcomes.
The campaign includes health education resources to educate and inspire action. The Maternal Health toolkit contains key messages and talking points to help facilitate conversations about the important role that doulas and midwives play in supporting equitable birth outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. There are also social media graphics that can be downloaded to amplify the key messages, along with educational resources that can be used by mothers, family members, public health and medical professionals, and others who want to get engaged.
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About the Webinar
This webinar aims to bring awareness to maternal health by highlighting the work and support that both doulas and midwives provide to mom and baby to improve health outcomes, especially their impact to improve maternal health outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Check back later for the recording.
Meet the panelists and host:
Lauren Agyekum, Nurse Midwife (panelist)
Lauren Agyekum is a dual-certified Nurse Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She is also the owner of Birthing With Confidence, LLC which is a platform focused on providing perinatal education to the community.
Kayla L. Harley (panelist)
Kayla is an International Wellness Practitioner, Optimal Breathologist and GYROTONIC®/GYROKINESIS® Trainer - who believes firmly that the body has the power to heal itself through actively listening and the right care and support. Kayla is a Full Spectrum Doula that takes a mom-centered approach to providing holistic care one of which empowers mothers to be vocal and self-advocate.
William C. Moore (panelist)
William works in Child and Maternal Health as a Doula and Lactation Educator who addresses disparities in the Maternal Death Rate and disparities in the Infant Mortality Rate. William was profiled in 101 Careers in Public Health and is the first male doula in the history of the state of Minnesota. He has a consulting firm focusing on showing direct service providers how to include more men in the birth process to aid in the decline of the aforementioned disparities as well as helping families successfully co-parent to ensure their children hit all their early childhood milestones.
Dr. Jovonni Spinner, MPH, CHES (host)
Dr. Jovonni Spinner is the CEO and Founder of Beacon Public Health. She is an award-winning health equity strategist and thought leader with a deep passion for improving health equity across the lifespan through research, communication, multi-sector partnerships, programming, and leadership.
Pansay Tayo (panelist)
Pansay Tayo is a Certified Birth Doula, Certified Birth Assistant, Childbirth Educator, Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, Certified Naturopathic & Maternity Reiki Practitioner, Certified Sacred Pregnancy Retreat Facilitator, Sacred Space Creator, and Spiritual Ritualist. Owner and Operator of The Sacred Pause Red Room In Reisterstown, Md. Pansay is known as the mother to mothers, and birthing persons bringing divine love, support, and healing through each stage of life.
Maternal Health Toolkit
This toolkit contains a variety of resources such as:
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key messages and talking points to help facilitate conversations
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shareable social media graphics to amplify the key messages (Tag us @BeaconPublicHealth and use the hashtag #Mamas4Life),
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educational resources that can be used by mothers, family members, public health and medical professionals, and others who want to get engaged.
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Coming soon. . .check back later for the toolkit.
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