If you're a Black person with a Due Date before January 15th - You may qualify for a NO COST Doula Program

See flyer for details!

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 16, 2021) — Communities Lifting Communities (CLC), the Public Health Alliance of Southern California (Alliance), and the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC), recently marked the end of its first, two-year cohort of Cherished Futures for Black Moms & Babies, a collaborative effort to reduce Black maternal and infant health inequities in Los Angeles County.

The Cherished Futures landmark took place just prior to a Dec. 7 White House statement that identified reducing maternal mortality and morbidity as a strategic objective of the Biden-Harris Administration. The statement followed a presidential proclamation released during April’s Black Maternal Health Week, when Vice President Kamala Harris presided over a roundtable on the issue.  

“Black women in our country are facing a maternal health crisis,” Harris said at the time. “We know the primary reasons why: systemic racial inequities and implicit bias,”

We believe in the importance of centering the real experiences of Black mothers/birthing persons. This effort deeply connects people to the narratives that relate to our work and, rather, to the people for whom this work was created. It also allows us to share the joys as well as sit with the gravity of the birthing experience.

ARE YOU A DOULA WHO WORKS WITH BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN PREGNANT WOMEN AND FAMILIES?

WE'RE HIRING! 

See Flyer Below For More Detail!

We love to welcome new babies into the world, but we don’t want to welcome them too soon.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. remains among the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth—a crisis fueled by the health equity gap in our health care system that puts women and babies of color at the greatest risk.

If your family has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and needs financial assistance, you may qualify for help through BIG:LEAP. The City of Los Angeles has launched the BIG:LEAP (Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot) program, the largest guaranteed basic income pilot in the nation designed to bring about more equitable opportunities for families. The City’s program will provide $1,000 a month for 12 months to approximately 3,200 eligible families across Los Angeles in an effort to increase financial opportunities for households who are living below the poverty line.

Presented by the Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP), The L.A. County AAIMM Initiative and The March of Dimes: Overcoming disparities in African American Infant and Maternal Mortality: Doctors and Doulas and Mamas, Oh My!

Intended Audience: Physicians, Nurses, NPs, CNMs, LMs, PAs, Allied Health Staff and Community Members

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • Define the role(s) of the doula during pregnancy, birth, and the post partum period

  • Identify the ways that doctors and doulas can partner to support successful and joyous childbirth

  • Discuss ways that doctors and doulas in-partnership can help decrease African American infant and maternal mortality

For more information see flyer below:

OVERCOMING DISPARITIES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN INFANT AND MATERNAL MORTALITY: DOCTORS AND DOULAS AND MAMAS, OH MY!

Presented by the Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP), The L.A. County AAIMM Initiative and The March of Dimes: Overcoming disparities in African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Preterm Birth

Intended Audience: Physicians, Nurses, NPs, CNMs, LMs, PAs, Allied Health Staff and Community Members

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Define preterm infant morbidity and mortality in relation to gestational age at birth
• Name the diagnoses and complications that affect preterm births
• Provide information and evidence, and assess candidates for interventions
• Discuss key patient education points to increase understanding and strategies to better support patient experience

For more information see flyer below:

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ASSOCIATION OF BLACK PROVIDERS:

https://www.blackwomenphysicians.org

The Division of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health of the Los Angles County Department of Public Health (LAC DPH) is seeking a physician leader to direct its Perinatal and Infant Health Unit. The Director will have major responsibility for a constellation of programs aimed at improving outcomes for mothers, infants, young children, and families in all Los Angeles County (LAC) communities, but especially in communities that face unequal access to resources that are critical to good health.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a law aimed at improving maternal and postpartum care for Black California families who have disproportionately suffered pregnancy-related and infant deaths in recent years. Senate Bill 65, dubbed the “Momnibus Act” and authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, aims to close those racial disparities in maternal and infant deaths. The law would establish a committee to investigate pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidity and expands data collection and research into the social factors that cause negative birth outcomes. The bill also increases access to postpartum health care, doula services and midwives for families.

31 New Deaths and 1,436 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is strongly encouraging COVID-19 vaccination for all women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future to prevent severe illness, death and adverse pregnancy outcomes from COVID-19. 

While studies have affirmed the vaccines’ safety in all stages of pregnancy and the vaccines do not cause any fertility problems, the CDC reports as of September 18, only 31% of pregnant women are fully vaccinated nationwide. 

Healthcare providers should communicate the risk of COVID-19, the benefits of vaccination, information on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, and strongly recommend COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible.