Maternal Health Innovation

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 facing birthing people in rural areas.Today's guests are Anna Taranova, Barb Gleason, Mariluz Martinez, Susan Kendig, Rebecca Burger, and Morgan Nesselrodt.Today's episode is hosted by Tanisa Adimu, assistant project director at the Georgia Health Policy Center and is a co-leader of the Community Health Systems Development team. Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 Services, and Reena Oza-Frank and Ali Stevens with Ohio Department of Health's Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health.Today's episode is hosted by Kimberly Harper, the Perinatal Neonatal Outreach Coordinator with UNC Maternal and Infant Health.Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 people from gestation to parenthood and helps them make informed birthing decisions.Today's episode is hosted by Leslie deRosset, implementation specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she works on maternal health child projects housed at Gillings School of Global Public Health.Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 transportation gaps, access to care, and support during the pandemic.Stephanie Hutchinson is the Founder and President of Appalachian Breastfeeding Network (ABN), Kate Tuttle is the membership chair of ABN, and Jeanna Spears is the ABN secretary and librarian.Today's episode is hosted by Andrea Serano, Program Manager at Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE).Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 teacher, and adjunct professor Karen Sheffield-Abdullah is trying to figure out why.Today's episode is hosted by Dr. Kristin Tully, co-chair of the MHLIC Innovation Support Core, and researcher at UNC Chapel Hill.Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 feeding, birth traditions, and the disparities in birthing health outcomes.Today they discuss the fight for lactation rights.This episode is hosted by Dr. Kimarie Bugg, President and CEO of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere Inc (ROSE).Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 Support Core, and researcher at UNC Chapel Hill.Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 division of academic internal medicine and associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at University of Illinois - Chicago. She's also the principal investigator at I-PROMOTE Illinois.Today's episode is hosted by Katherine Bryant, Research Associate and Project Manager for the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health and a Project Director in the UNC Jordan Institute for Families.Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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, which include hearing about the maternal mortality statistics and mistreatment numbers. For LaToshia, that's just another opportunity to help. Today's episode is hosted by Dr. Kristin Tully, co-chair of the MHLIC Innovation Support Core, and researcher at UNC Chapel Hill. Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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 find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.Maternal Health Innovation is a product of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center and is produced by Earfluence.Music provided by Graham Makes.This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC33636 State Maternal Health Innovation Support and Implementation Program Cooperative Agreement. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.