March of Dimes California is hosting two free, live webinars for Prematurity Awareness Month November 17-18, 2020. The webinars series will share clinical updates and public health innovations to improve perinatal outcomes and advance equity. 

The informative series is for both clinical and community stakeholders and we hope the series will spark dialogue and actionable solutions to ensure healthy and joyous births for all.

Webinar topics include:

• COVID-19 and pregnancy updates
• Breastfeeding and shared decision-making during COVID-19
• Anti-racist praxis in population health equity research
• Strategies for improving equity in NICU outcomes
• Resiliency and birth equity
• Bay Area Abundant Birth pregnancy income supplement project

November 17, 2020: 12-1:30pm PT: Clinical Practice

• Mariam Naqvi, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: Covid-19 and Pregnancy: An Update
• Ravi Dhurtjati, PhD, Stanford: Strategies to Improve Equity in NICU Outcomes
• Karen Scott, MD, MPH, UCSF: Advancing Anti-Racism Praxis in Perinatal Population Health Equity Research

Click here to register. You will receive a confirmation email with log-in instructions.

November 18, 2020: 12-1:30pm PT: Community Practice

• Susan Crowe, MD: Stanford: Breastfeeding and Shared Decision-Making During COVID-19
• Solaire Spellen, MPH, PTBi: Expecting Justice: Abundant Birth Income Supplement Project
• Diamond Lee, MSW, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services: Resiliency and Birth Equity

Click here to register. You will receive a confirmation email with log-in instructions.

Registration is free and limited. Continuing education credits will be available. For more info, email caprofed@marchofdimes.org

The SLA/SB AAIMM CAT Launches Inaugural issue of the Richardson Review, the Official Newsletter of the SLA/SB AAIMM CAT, presented by the Integrated Community Solutions work group!

Adjoa Jones, Associate Director Whole Person Care-LA, and a SLA/SB AAIMM CAT lead, shared the inspiration about the newsletter. "I can’t express how proud I am of our team, who worked hard to put this edition together to honor our beloved Dr. Barbarosia Richardson. Dr. Richardson, who served as one of the original ICS co-chairs and was dedicated to improving the Black infant birth outcomes." Dr. Richardson who passed earlier this year, was a tremendous inspiration and leader on the CAT, known for her insight, positivity, and brilliant out-of-the-box wisdom in the work. "With tears running down my face right now, I can say not only did she show up but she showed out, with her soft-spoken self," Jones went on to share. "Dr. Barbara Richardson, we are missing you already. On behalf of the South Los Angeles/South Bay African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Community Action Planning Team, the Integrative Holistic Approaches Workgroup and the entire AAIMM Community, we can say Dr. Barbara was truly appreciated; her work and endeavors were INVALUABLE to us." 

Click Here to Read the RICHARDSON REVIEW 1st EDITION!

Join the South LA/South Bay Community Action Team on Friday, October 23rd, 2020 10:00-11:30 AM for our South LA/South Bay African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Community Action Team monthly offering!

The Black Birthing Bill of Rights, which is an advocacy tool developed by the National Association for used to ensure Black women and birthing persons receive equitable care. During this event, two mothers from our community will share their personal birth stories and Dr. Dionne Bensonsmith will inform and educate the community on the importance and significance of the Black Birthing Bill of Rights.

Dr. Dionne Bensonsmith a professor at Claremont Graduate University; paving the way for black voices in public policy, race/gender politics, mental health policy, black feminist politics, reproductive justice, and feminist methodologies. In addition to research, teaching, and mentoring graduate students, she is the co-founder and co-director of Mothers on the Frontline, a non-profit organization that uses feminist informed methods such as storytelling, ethnography, and participatory research to facilitate caregiver healing and children’s mental health justice. 

In South Los Angeles County and South Bay areas (South LA, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Compton, and Long Beach) the African American/Black Infant and Maternal Mortality rates are alarmingly high relative to other areas in Los Angeles County and the Country. 

African American/Black women, fathers, and families, advocates, community/faith-based organizations, allies, and providers (perinatal clinicians, mental health providers, doulas, midwives, caseworkers, etc.) who live in and serve South LA, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Compton, and Long Beach are encouraged to attend.

To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/slasb-aaimm-october-virtualitea-black-birthing-bill-of-rights-tickets-125517627603

For more information on the Black Birthing Bill of Rights: https://www.blackinfantsandfamilies.org/black_birthing_bill_of_rights

The California Healthcare Foundation has featured our Steering Committee Member and member of the SLASB AAIMM CAT Sonya Young Aadam: 

For Black communities, the ability to stay physically and mentally healthy has long been undermined by racism, social exclusion, and economic inequality. These challenges are especially acute for Black women, who face additional layers of discrimination and exclusion based on their gender and on cultural stereotypes.

For almost three decades, the California Black Women’s Health Project, a statewide nonprofit, has dedicated itself to improving the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health of the state’s 1.2 million Black women and girls through education, policy, outreach, and advocacy. It has trained hundreds of Black women through customizable Advocate Training Programs, including its Sisters Mentally Mobilized initiative, to become mental health community advocates and to launch regional mental health–focused support groups called Sister Circles.

I spoke with the project’s chief executive officer, Sonya Young Aadam, about the organization’s work, the challenges to Black women’s health in California, and ideas for eliminating inequities.

Read the entire article Here.

Black Voices News publishes an article about AAIMM's Black Breastfeeding Week!

features quotes from Dr. Tonce' Jackson, Dr. Melissa Franklin, and Asaiah Harville & speaks about our work in the community!

Please visit the link below to read the full article!

Black Voice News: Raising Awareness: Black Mothers and Breastfeeding

PRPSN Project Return is looking for volunteers who har advocates, community leaders, and students to facilitate in person and telehealth groups as a stipend volunteer!

To be fully effective, our voices of lived experience must be joined together behind common messages and combined advocacy efforts. When you join the coalition, you will be informed of state-level and local advocacy opportunities, with tips to help you advocate effectively. You will also receive updates to keep you educated about the Mental Health Services Act, changes to Medi-Cal, and legislation that has the potential to impact you.

• You must be +18 with a passion for the community
• able to access online platforms
• willing to complete documentation & complete a livescan.

Join the Peer Voices of California A Client Advocacy Coalition - Email Aflores@prpsn.org or call 562.506.6784.

https://www.accesscalifornia.org/peeradvocacycoalition

ABORTION DOULA TRAINING
in collaboration with the LA County African American Infant and Maternal Mortality prevention initiative and ITS FREE! ⁣

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*Applications due October 16th 11:59 p.m. PST. See attached flyer for further information.

There will be two training options. ⁣

*YOU MUST ATTEND ALL 4 PARTS* ⁣

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Training Option 1⁣

Part 1 & 2 - Monday, November 9, 2020 9am - 5 pm⁣

Part 3 & 4 Monday, November 16, 2020 9am - 5 pm⁣

Location: Online ⁣

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Training Option 2 ⁣

Part 1 - Saturday, January 9, 2021 10 am - 1 pm⁣

Part 2 -Sunday , January 10, 2021 10 am - 1 pm⁣

Part 3 -Saturday,  January 16, 2021 10 am - 1 pm⁣

Part 4 - Sunday , January 17, 2021 10 am - 1 pm⁣

Location: Online ⁣

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Trainings are limited to 20 people per session! So, APPLY ASAP and SPREAD THE WORD! ⁣

Please use the link below to complete the interest form:

www.rebrand.ly/abortiondoulatraining

On behalf of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Services, First 5 LA, the Center for Strategic Partnerships, and the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment, we are excited to announce the launch of the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Prevention Initiative Village Fund (Village Fund). 
 
The Village Fund seeks to reinforce the broad goals of the AAIMM Prevention Initiative by funding community-led efforts that support the physical and mental well-being of Black women/birthing persons, fathers, partners, and families before, during, after birth. Organizations, networks, coalitions, individual service providers, micro-enterprises, or small businesses are eligible to apply. Priority consideration will be given to entities that are Black-led. 

The Village Fund was developed by a team of Black women and allies representing the South LA/South Bay and Antelope Valley Community Action Teams, the AAIMM Countywide Steering Committee, First 5 LA, LA County Department of Public Health, and philanthropy. The Fund is managed by the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment and is capitalized by a combination of public and private philanthropic dollars.

For more information about the Village Fund and to access the application, please visit our website and join us on September 25 from 1:30 to 2:30pm PT for an informational webinar.

REGISTER FOR WEBINAR

The SACRED Birth Study explores how Black mothers & birthing people experience racism in hospital settings during labor, birth, and postpartum prior to going home. 

Complete a 1-hour survey and provide access to hospital medical records to receive a $100 gift card. 

Click here for details.