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We are the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, a network of maternal health equity experts and organizations working to make real change for women and birthing people in the U.S.
Our podcast is a series of episodes connecting around culture, lifting voices and stories, exploring innovations in maternal care and discussing ways we can center equity in the way we approach our health and wellness.
Learn more about us, explore our resource center and find support for all maternal health professionals at MaternalHealthLearning.org.
For more podcast information and content, visit MaternalHealthPodcast.org.
Lived Experiences, Collective Action: Voices from the Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG)
Rakiah - 00:00:04:
Hello everyone and welcome to the Maternal Health Innovation Podcast, Season 3. I'm your host, Rakiah Anderson. I'm an Evaluation Manager at the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center. This podcast is created by the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center. Episodes are released bi-weekly, so be sure you are subscribed. On this podcast, we listen to maternal health innovators about ways we can implement change to improve maternal health in the United States. In this episode, I'm thrilled to bring you into the world of the Maternal Health Learning Innovation Center's MHLIC, Lived Experience Advisory Group, or LEAG, where real stories, diverse perspectives, and unwavering dedication intertwine to illuminate the path towards equitable maternal health well-being. Through the lens of our collective experiences, we'll explore the triumphs and trials of giving birth during a pandemic, navigating the intricate tapestry of maternal mental health, and pioneering the revolutionary concept of community-based doula support. These remarkable voices from LEAG members, including Eboni Williams, Amber Pendergraph-Leak, Courtney Carter, and Maya Jackson. We'll all share their personal stories and collective activism, shedding light on profound impact of their work and how it has deepened their commitment to our mission. Thanks for joining me. So now I'll ask each of you to introduce yourselves and share how you got involved with the Lived Experience Advisory Group to support maternal health initiatives. Amber, do you wanna introduce yourself?
Amber - 00:01:50:
Hello everyone, my name is Amber Pendergraph-Leak. I'm the executive director of Birth Matters in Spartanburg and how I became involved with the LEAG is actually through Rose to just share some of the experiences I have with the group in terms of my lived experiences as a doula.
Rakiah - 00:02:10:
Thanks Amber. Courtney, can you introduce yourself?
Courtney - 00:02:13:
Sure, hi everyone, I'm Courtney Carter and I joined the LEAG or got brought into the LEAG by reaching our sisters everywhere due to my experience as lactation support and also as a mom of two, having delivered my second right at the peak of the pandemic.
Rakiah - 00:02:32:
Thank you, Courtney. Maya, can you introduce yourself?
Maya - 00:02:35:
Hi everyone, my name is Maya Jackson. I'm the founder and director of MAAME, Inc., which is a community-based maternal health organization in Durham, North Carolina. At the time before MaMAY was founded, I was nominated by a community member for being a parent of toddlers and tandem nursing. I think like everyone lived experiences where it was what initially brought me to the table. And then it kind of intersected with me professionally and me as a doula as well.
Rakiah - 00:03:02:
Thank you. And Eboni, can you introduce yourself?
Eboni - 00:03:04:
Greetings everyone, I am Ebony and I was brought to this group by Amber. At the time I was a mom that just delivered a baby during the pandemic so that was my lucky experience. And like Evans, my professional work brought me to the table as well.
Rakiah - 00:03:25:
Thanks, everyone. For the next question, we know that as LibExperience advisory group members, you all have personal experiences with children, and you also have really unique professional backgrounds in community engagement and doula work. Can you share how this unique combination of your perspectives have shaped your approach to providing feedback to MHLIC and the input you give in LEAG meetings?
Courtney - 00:03:51:
For ALCO, this is Courtney Carter. I think that we are able to not only share, like you said, our experience as mothers, but also the experience of those people that we have worked alongside of, helped deliver their babies, or just, you know, been a support in some way. So we come with a wide range of perspective and able to give that feedback.
Maya - 00:04:14:
This is Maya. Also, I think because we're in this work professionally, we can see how policies as well as processes affect the birthing process from the business standpoint and the consumer standpoint. So as we're working with our clients, we're able to better help them navigate certain services or have better understanding of their needs. And then I guess from an institutional standpoint, because of the lived experiences that we've not only experienced ourselves, but we see our clients go through on a daily basis, I think we're ahead of the curve in kind of what best practices and strategies will work best for the communities that we serve.
Rakiah - 00:04:56:
That's absolutely right. Thank you both for providing that response. I'll move on to the next question. So first, I'd like to hear from Eboni. As a doula, I know you've experienced childbirth during the pandemic. Could you share some of the challenges you've faced and the ways you adapted your doula practice to the circumstance?
Eboni - 00:05:19:
Absolutely. I just remember pre-COVID, there were as many people as you could get in the room or allowed in the room and you were allowed to birth in the atmosphere, surrounded by family and support. And having that in my own birth, literally two days before the big shutdown, and then having to go back to the hospital and only one of us could come in, it was a drastic change. So it was either my partner or myself going into the hospital versus both being able to go into the hospital in the matter of days, which was really a harsh reality that eventually set in, that became a factor into the way in which I did my job as well as a doula. And pre-COVID, like I was saying, it was so much different. So it was a point in time during COVID where as a doula, we were not allowed in the hospital. So it was very tough to still be able to support our clients. And we had to support them virtually for a little amount of time before we were able to get back into the hospital. So it was very tough time because being there and being hands-on helping our clients is a big part of our work.
Rakiah - 00:06:39:
Thank you, Eboni and Courtney. Could you share a little bit about your experience with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders during the pandemic? And could you elaborate on, the importance of discussing Black maternal mental health is important to PMADS.
Courtney - 00:06:59:
Yes, so I suffered with both of my children with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, depression and anxiety to be specific. There's others like OCD, but I, so I suffered with those. And I think that it's important to address those issues because in the black community, I think we're, we're all taught to that we're strong black women. And that kind of keeps us silent when we're dealing with these issues of having anxiety or depression during our pregnancies. And after the fact, also it helps us feel seen and have support when we hear others talk about sharing that same experience. So hopefully, and my part in the LEAG is to really share my lived experience with those disorders so that other women can know that there are someone else that has went through that and that they have the support.
Rakiah - 00:07:50:
Thanks, and I also know that you and Eboni kind of had children during the pandemic. Do either of you want to share a little bit more about that experience or?
Courtney - 00:08:00:
I would say that it was just a very lonely experience as one could expect. I think my son was born a few days before the world shut down. So when the world shut down a couple of days after getting out of the hospital, it was just very hard not having the support or the support not looking like what I had envisioned or what I had with my oldest son. Also the lack of being able to have breastfeeding support, that was very difficult because at that point, we didn't know what was going on with COVID. So it was just very lonely. And I think there's a select group of us that have went through that and have that experience and are able to talk about that. And I think we're still kind of developing and trying to navigate through what that experience was like for us.
Rakiah - 00:08:47:
Thanks for sharing that. Just touching back on Ebony, I know you also had a similar experience with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, PMADS. How did the pandemic and your previous childbirth experience influence your journey through this challenging period?
Eboni - 00:09:04:
So like Courtney, I too, I felt alone. I did have my partner there, my mom there, but I still felt so alone just because It looked different. I have four children and with the last one, I didn't get to do as I did with the other ones. The other ones were in school. So I had that one-on-one bonding time and I did not get that time with that baby. So it made it very difficult to still try to, you know, scrap my boots up and be a mom and be a partner, focus in on this new baby as well. And I just began to be in my head a lot because I was so isolated in the house and it was just very different. So, you know, I felt like I was just in my head and just suffering alone during COVID.
Rakiah - 00:09:55:
Maya, I see you nodding your head. Did you have any similar kind of experiences? I don't know if you had a baby during the pandemic.
Maya - 00:10:02:
I did. Well, so I, my little one was transitioning into toddlerhood. And we noticed some things were with her were not developing, you know, she wasn't hitting certain milestones, we had quickly asked to get an evaluation like around 16 months. And then this is like all in the beginning of the pandemic. And so we were told, okay, she's going deaf, it's this, it's that. And there was like a sense of urgency to kind of get all these screenings and stuff done. And then the pandemic hits. And then you're told, you can't do anything, you just have to like, watch and wait, and figure it out. And so even though I wasn't diagnosed with mental health disorder, I know I was experiencing that. Because of I think, like Courtney said, I had OCD, I was just trying to make sure that everything was functioning in a certain way that made sense for me in my home and also being in a home with now four children, and their dad being the one out working and coming in, like my anxiety kicked up, I think triple time, as well as when we were allowed to be in the hospital again, trying to make sure that I'm practicing best protocols to not bring anything back home and then not knowing what's going on with my child, I was on overdrive mentally and emotionally. And so I definitely can relate to everything that everyone was going through, because I literally, for a whole year didn't have answers on what was going on with my child. And then by the time year two hit in with the pandemic, it was still a lot of uncertainty. And so I had to find the best way to navigate support for her with little to no help. And it was definitely a challenge and exhausting process.
Rakiah - 00:11:54:
Thank you all for sharing a little bit of the more personal side of your experiences. I do know that you all have like professional connections to this maternal health world and so I wanted to talk about that a little bit as well. So I'll jump to Amber. Can you explain the concept of a community-based doula and how this approach contributes to supporting maternal health in underserved communities? And could you share an example of a meaningful impact you've made as a community-based doula?
Amber - 00:12:24:
That's a lot. I'll just start by saying everyone needs a doula, but there is something special about community-based doulas. What makes community-based doulas stand out and why I feel like, well, I see the big difference. Community-based doulas are well-versed with the community that they serve. They know the community. They know what the community needs. They're a trusted member within that community. So they tend to be well-received. And oftentimes they are trusted more than the healthcare system because we are that constant voice prenatally. And so when we show up at their birth, they may have seen their doctor two times. That's their first time seeing their nurse, but their doula is like, oh my goodness. In a community-based doula, we have so many more touches. We're seeing our clients more, we know grandma, we know partner, we know everyone in the room. So it's like, Oh my goodness, that's my doula. It's almost like family. It's really my honor to be a community based doula. And a lot of people say like, how do community-based doulas differ from just a regular doula? And one of my, Good old school doulas, she put it the best way. She said, you know, think of doulas as cookies. Like a regular doula is a cookie you can go and get out of store. But a community based doula is like one of those grandma homemade cookies. And that is so true. No shade, because I'm sure both of the cookies are going to taste good. You know, some might say grandma's cookies taste a little better because it's made with love. I'm a community-based doula and one of my community-based partners called me and said, Hey, I have a mom that's expecting, she is still in high school, she's in alternative school. But she really needs a doula Amber, and I want you to be her doula. And I was like, okay. So I went out to her home and I met with her and her mom, just to explain the services and put a face with a name and make sure the client wants a doula. Just because someone else wants you to have a doula doesn't necessarily mean you want a doula. And so I asked her and she seemed to be very engaged in her pregnancy and she was like, oh yes, I definitely want this. She was 16 years old at the time. Her mom said, yeah, Amber, you can come anytime you want. I know I need to sign her up for these services, but I will likely be at work. And so I came like every Thursday. Birth matters, we would meet with our clients every week. I was coming out doing my job, you know, giving her all of the information that was needed. We're building this relationship on our home visits and she disclosed a lot with me. She opened up a lot and we talked about how to protect herself, the anatomy of her body, all types of things. We really went there. She had a question, I answered it. If I didn't have an answer, we talked about it next week. And so in passing one day when I was leaving our home visit, I passed her mom and her mom was like, hey, Amber, could you talk to my daughter about taking baths? And I was like, um, yeah. So I got in my car and I'm like, what in the world? So I text her and I said, Hey, I know we meet on Thursdays. Well, could I come out, you know, early in the week? And she was like, yes, you can come out Thursdays too. So I went out and I talked to her. You have to really be mindful of how you say things to anyone, no matter the age. And so I asked her, I said, you know, is there a particular reason that you like to take washups instead of baths? And she was like, do you really want to know? And I said, yeah, I want to know. And so she told me it was a time in her life where she had to go move with her father because her mother was having some issues. And she said, Amber, we just didn't have the basic needs in our home. Sometimes the power would get cut off. Sometimes the water would be cold. But long story made short, someone in the household actually raped her. And so after the rape, she took a shower. And the shower was really cold. And she's like, every time I get in a shower, that's triggering for me. So that's why I don't take showers. And I prefer wash-ups. And so I said, OK. So we went deeper. And I said, you know, I'm going to go wash my face. How about if you get in the shower every other day, we set a goal and I'll bring you a book, I'll bring you diapers, I'll bring you makeup. She's 16, so she's like, yeah, yeah. So we set goals, we got that, and then one day I asked her, I said, does your mom know what happened? And she was like, um. No, she doesn't. I said, well, do you want me to be there? That's the doula in me for that support. And she said, yes, I want you to be there with me. So I stayed over so I could have that conversation with her and her mom. We told her mom, I listened, and her mom just sat there. And I was like. Oh my goodness, because when she told me this story, I'm crying. I'm like. Mama, where he at? Let's go and handle this. But her mom just sat there. And she also had 32 cavities. And a lot of people are like. When I tell you what it makes sense. Like when you go to the dentist, you're in that optimal position. A lot of people don't go. And then if you think, if you don't have your basic needs at home, you're not gonna think about, hey, I really got to brush my teeth. And that was at a younger age. And so. The cavities became bigger. But what is so empowering about this story for me? We were able to get her to help she needed as far as therapy. And then her mom saw a difference in her daughter. Her mom then got into therapy herself. She graduated high school, healthy mama, healthy baby, graduated high school, went to college. And to me, that was just a story of triumph. Just seeing just everything she's been through and then just to see her grow. And not just suppress the things that had been done to her like she had been doing, is to really come up and say, I'm not a victim, I'm a survivor and it means the world. And I know today she still struggles with her past, but hopefully she has the tools in her toolbox, not only for herself, but her children. So it's really about breaking those generational patterns. You know, her mom and her didn't have that type of relationship, but I know she has that relationship with her children now because she loves her children. And her children are there, and she's like, I want that relationship. I want to know what's going on with my children. So if you see her, you see her children. Yes, that is why I do what I do.
Rakiah - 00:19:10:
That's a really powerful story, Amber, and thank you so much for sharing that. I think it gets to not only what role you play, but how important it is to kind of follow up with the folks that you're working with. It's not just a one time. Encounter, but you know the family members you're following up and you're able to see their successes and also help them navigate those challenges but that's a really sad and unfortunate story but it's not. An isolated thing, right, probably happens more than we think. So it's really great to hear that you were able to help her navigate that, her and her mother. But it's unfortunate she had to go through that. So thank you for sharing again. And so while we're kind of thinking about what it means to be a doula and also, I know Maya, you have the perspective of being a doula while also having a baby. What unique insights have you gained about the birthing experience from a personal or professional perspective? You can share either.
Maya - 00:20:12:
From a personal perspective, going through pregnancy, like the entire journey is just so transformative. And I feel like with each experience, you learn a little bit more about yourself and who you will become with each child because each child has very different unique needs. So you can't parent the one way with one child to the next. And I think having that lived experience is also, help me reset some of the anxiety and angst that some of our clients experience. In America, we have painted pregnancy and parenthood as something that is just easy and that it should come natural and that we should automatically be attached to our pregnancy, our child, as soon as we're pregnant. And what I've found a lot of times is that most of our families are stressed, they're overwhelmed, they do not have support system. No matter if they are fluent or they're under the poverty threshold, everyone's struggling in some capacity because we have not built a society that is supportive of families and birthing people in general. And so when you add this new addition into your life, it complicates things more where if we were in a Western country or an Eastern country that really celebrated life and families in the way that is intended, it should be not necessarily a walk in a park, but we would have to carry less bricks on our backs in the process of that, right? And so because I have dealt with discrimination while pregnant in the workplace, I have dealt with discrimination in regards to me advocating for myself while pregnant and at birth. You know, I am now empowering families with the tools. To be able to help them feel comfortable and confident to know what their rights are as well. If they don't like the service that they're receiving, that it is safe to go someplace else. Even in the midst that that baby is coming and you don't like that hospital that you had initially planned to go, as long as they're in another facility someplace else, you have the right to go wherever you want because you deserve quality care. So I think these experiences, my own experience, helps me help my parents feel better prepared. And on the flip side, I think that the health professionals that I work with, these stories provide them with more insight and empathy. They have not been trained to care for people. They have been trained to treat a disease. So when someone comes in front of you and you only charge to support them for 15 minutes, you have no idea what that person is going through. We have really brought the true human experience into the forefront of what it looks like caring for birthing people. And I'm hoping, I feel like it's working. Even though I know we got a lot of work to do, I feel like it is changing the impact the way that the healthcare industry views birth and what support should look like.
Rakiah - 00:23:26:
You were talking and Amber was talking, I'm just sitting here giving like heavy sighs and mm's and I see everyone nodding their heads because the work that y'all are doing is important. It may just be a coincidence, but I have four strong black women here sharing the personal experiences that y'all have dealt with. Maya, you talked about like experiencing discrimination and then the personal professional, like it's layered, right? How you show up in the room as a black woman, as a doula, as a person giving birth, it's different probably for other folks who have those same experiences. It's unfortunate to me that yeah, there seems like a different type of firm. Personal space and professional space. But I think it's important now that I'm hearing it even more. Having your perspective on our lived experience advisory group because you've seen it on both sides, on both ends. And so I just want to name that and acknowledge it. And also just, again, thank you all for sharing what you've shared so far. I also wanted to kind of bring in the perspective of someone like Courtney, who works with Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere, important black breastfeeding organization. And I think you're also connected with community. Can you talk a little bit about what it's like working for Rose and what perspective and contributions you bring to black breastfeeding and the importance of that?
Courtney - 00:24:48:
Yes, absolutely. Happy Black Breastfeeding Week, everyone. We are wrapping that up today. It's so important because we know that Black women breastfeed at lower rates, but it's not that we don't want to, we just need a little more support. We don't have that representation in the lactation space. So, Rose is very an integral piece of the Black breastfeeding space because we encourage it from all sorts. We offer support for lactation support professionals. We offer support to just moms who feel like they don't have anybody around them. Like in my experience, my mother didn't breastfeed. I didn't have anybody in my circle who breastfed, but I knew I wanted to. So, we're heavy on the building your village and making sure that you have people around you. If they need more education or want more education, we're able to provide that. And that's from fathers with our group, reaching our brothers everywhere, who provide that support for fathers and partners to the queen circle where that's like for the grandmas and the women who hold that space in your life. We just, we want to encourage and make sure that Black women have that support so that we can breastfeed our babies for longer periods of time or just even initiate that. And I'm thankful for Rose one because I was trained by a mama bug as a breastfeeding peer counselor with WIC years ago. That's actually how we met then with my experience during the pandemic with my youngest son, lost jobs because of COVID and all of that. She brought me on and it's home. And it was, they were a support for me during my lactation experience.
Rakiah - 00:26:29:
Thank you, Courtney, for sharing that. And thank you all for just bringing forth your collective experiences that you've all had from childbirth during the pandemic to support and maternal health. And I'm curious to know how those collective experiences, how does that keep you engaged in the LEAG? Are there reasons why you keep coming back to our LEAG meetings? Do you feel like it's a space for you to connect with other folks' experiences? Like what kind of keeps you engaged with the lived experience advisory group at MHLIC?
Eboni - 00:27:00:
I'll go. This is Evanie. I just always feel like us folks with lived experience deserve a seat at the table. So always being in spaces where lived experience is needed, it's very important. It's very vital.
Courtney - 00:27:15:
I'll go next. So for me, it's coming into a space where you can get grounded and it's not just work. It's like, hey, how are you doing? What do you have going on? And just really. Talking about our experiences, sharing our experiences. Because we can learn from one another. I've been doing this work for over 12 years and my is a little less, but I'm sure that we can learn from one another and just getting others perspective. Is huge for me. So that's why I continue to come back.
Maya - 00:27:49:
Piggybacking off of Ebony, we deserve a seat at the table. And a lot of times when you think about the strategies and the initiatives that are coming down as a very top-down approach, they haven't done the legwork to get connected with community. They have no contact or relationship with community. And so all of this money, millions of dollars get pumped up to programming with failed implementation because people, there's no buy-in, right? And so this group allows us not only to be grounded, but for us to learn what strategies are working. It also allows us to give feedback to the larger subsets of folks who have control and say and privilege to say like, hey, like, yeah, I mean, in theory, this sounds nice, but this is what we've seen. This is our journey as a black birthing person, as a black woman. And we can tell you if this is an investment in, a worthy investment or not. And so I think because of that and the opportunities to present and to speak in larger audiences across the country to hear these stories, I think there is a shift that is happening even though we can't like fully see it, but people are invested in what we've been doing and they're learning. And hopefully it's something that other communities and groups will be interested in replicating as well.
Eboni - 00:29:09:
I mean, I would just echo what everyone said. And I would like to also add that it has just been therapeutic to me to be in a space with these wonderful women, like just knowing that I'm not alone in some of the experiences that I've had since becoming a mother. And so that's just been nice. And I always look forward to being in that space. One, because I really feel like our opinion and our feedback is valued. Often people ask, but they don't really care what your answer is or your feedback is. But I really feel like our feedback is very, very much valued in the LEAG. And just having the shared experience with these women is just amazing.
Rakiah - 00:29:52:
Thank you all for sharing that and I just want to echo something that Maya said. Y'all have done a lot of really awesome like presentations at national conferences, at in-person and virtual events. So outside of just giving your feedback to the Maternal Health Learning Innovation Center, y'all have also spoken to like experts who are working in maternal health innovation and trying to improve outcomes for mothers and people who are giving birth. So your expertise, I think is something that folks like you said, don't always consider, but you all are the experts in the room and it's been really wonderful to see the ways that you all have been able to provide this kind of mutual beneficial exchange of like learning from each other. So that's just really incredible. And I'm excited for kind of the upcoming opportunities that y'all will continue to engage in.
Courtney - 00:30:45:
Can we just add on how Rakiah, you and D-Tree set a amazing atmosphere in a safe space for us to be able to share our lived experience? I just wanted to say that and give thanks.
Rakiah - 00:30:59:
That's really sweet. And yeah, let's give a shout out to D-Tree Epps who facilitates all of the lived experience advisor group meetings. She's the founder and CEO of Race for Equity, and she really helps us to bring that equity centered forward thinking into all of the work that we do at MHLIC. So for sure. Thank you, Eboni, for that compliment. Shout out to D-Tree and everyone else who supports the LEAG at MHLIC. You all have these combined experiences that encompass various aspects of maternal health. How do you see your individual experiences complementing each other within the LEAG's work? And as we wrap up, could you share one piece of advice or insight that you've gained in just the work that you do or with the involvement with the LEAG that you think could benefit expecting mothers and the broader maternal health community?
Eboni - 00:31:51:
I think it's been shared earlier that our combined experience is able to like just give an aspect that other people don't see. Like I think Maya was talking about it, like from all ends, our personal experience, our professional experience. I know Maya works a lot with policy, like just being able to really like we're in there, like we're not on the outside, you know, watching everything fall down to others. We are really living this life and sharing these experiences with others. And then also, I think there's strength in numbers. So having so many of us that have these same experiences and being able to uplift our voices is something that's, you know, integral to the success of the LEAG. But also, I see it taking us, you know, further. And the second part of your question that you asked, I think it was something about a piece of advice. And I would just say that once we have the space at the table to bring other people to the table and to uplift those voices that are not heard, or, you know, the people who don't feel strong enough or confident in themselves to share their experience, being able to do that for others is an important piece to me. And I would like to say the rest of us that are here.
Maya - 00:33:10:
Listening to the stories from other members who are not here, you know, our country, we have a major problem. And though the head of the problem is the Black maternal health crisis, we haven't addressed substance abuse in pregnancy. We haven't addressed the issues for brown and Indigenous people in this country. And because we keep having this very like cookie cutter approach to maternal healthcare is not working for anyone. And so I really hope that from the work that we've been doing with this group, and especially because it's coming from black women, because we are literally the bodies that were used to create a lot of these practices that are being placed on everyone in this country. Again, that shift, I hope the shift comes sooner than later, because it's only gonna get worse. There are gonna be more poor outcomes for every single group in this country. There's no reason why the US should be at the bottom when it comes to birth out, negative birth outcomes for anyone. And so I hope these lived experiences from all of the women on the group really highlight that there has to be a swifter shift in change. And then I think the benefit, again, just piggyback off of Courtney and everyone, these shared stories will hopefully touch someone in a way to let them know that they're not alone and that there is a community in which they can identify with. And I think for me, as someone who, you know, does not have a mother or a grandmother, like my maternal line is no longer here. And so these groups are very healing for me because I lost my grandmother during COVID. I didn't have a maternal space to connect to. So yeah, I'm just hoping that people realize that they're not alone and that community does exist to support them.
Rakiah - 00:34:57:
That is what I was gonna speak to in the way in which we connect as well. I feel like we have a great community. I feel like I could call any of these ladies, including Megan who's not here, and ask a question or bounce an idea or, you know, I think I could call them all my friends. Like, I feel like we all have a great relationship and I'm excited about the future work they were gonna do. And I guess my piece of advice, I feel like it's already been said. I think Courtney said it, just bring other folks to the table as well, whose voices are not being heard is so important to pull up a chair for the folks who feel like they do not have the means or the voice that they, or the lane to share their perspective and their experiences.
Courtney - 00:35:47:
You ladies did really well. When I joined the LEAG, it was all about COVID. That shook some tables for us, and we had to pivot and learn new ways. And so for me, just coming into the LEAG and just hearing others' experiences, oh my goodness, I could remember I'm a lactation consultant. Easily, I could go and look at someone and have a consultation with them and troubleshoot and within 10 to 15 minutes, we got to figure it out. Baby's latched, everything's fine. COVID hit, we can't go out into the home. So I'm on the phone like. Freaking two hours. You know, and so I learned to adjust. I learned to ask more questions because we never know when something else is going to happen where you have to adjust. And so it's something as simple as we talked about, okay, how can we have our families that have access to health? How can we make sure they have access to health during COVID, especially if they live in these rural places? So we talked about, hey, sending blood pressure cups out, fetal dopplers, but then it sounds amazing, but being in the LEAG, we understood that, hey, it's a lot of barriers even to that. So just being around other people that does the same work, who you can really talk to and troubleshoot and really remove the barriers so our families can get the care that they need. So just really being in the space and learning from one another. I said it earlier, but that is my biggest takeaway. That's why I'm still here at Two Years In.
Rakiah - 00:37:22:
Thank you so much, Amber, Courtney, Maya, and Ebony. And I did want to just share, you know, I don't think we talked about what the Lived Experience Advisory Group is for MHLRC. And so usually how we describe it is that the LEAG consists of mothers, doulas, health aides, and advocates from the community who have a unique set of skills and knowledge and provide key recommendations and information to the Maternal Health Learning Innovation Center. And as I mentioned, we use a culturally responsive and equity driven framework. Advisory group participation and engagement in MHLRC helps MHLRC improve our quality of services, our credibility as a national resource center, and hopefully improves the use of all of the resources and services that we know are available to people that are giving birth. The LEAG meets on a monthly basis and LEAG members are invited to participate in MHLRC committees and attend our meetings and other events, both nationally and locally. The girls have mentioned, you know, bringing more folks to the table. And yes, that's something we're very much interested in. And so hopefully as folks who are listening, if you're curious about how to engage with the LEAG, you can always kind of check out maternalhealthlearning.org website for more information. Anything you want to share about the work that you're doing, how people can kind of connect with you both professionally or personally, or whatever you want to share that you might want to be listeners with, such as like the organizations you're a part of and any information you'd want to share to folks who are curious about like doulas or in the work that you all do, whatever you want to share.
Maya - 00:39:01:
I will go. So MAME, we are in Durham, North Carolina. We serve all counties surrounding Durham, but we also do telehealth with folks that don't live in our area. But we've just launched our Perinatal Wellness Center this past April, and we've just launched our first community lactation clinic in our center. So for families who are looking for accessible lactation support and care, we are here and we will be in the process of training a new set of doulas, as well as Pathway 3 IBCLC. So we are trying to also increase the workforce as well.
Courtney - 00:39:39:
Birth Matters here in Swartonburg, South Carolina, we offer dual services for families that are 25 and younger at no cost to them. We're actually in the midst of having affiliate sites throughout the state. So we're going to have birth matters, hopefully all through South Carolina. And we are also doing some work with policy work. We have a steering committee. We're working on Medicaid reimbursement. And of course, with us training all of these doulas, they have to have workforce. So that's what we tied into, doula reimbursement. We're working on that really hard.
Eboni - 00:40:15:
So Rose has a lot going on. We are doing some partnerships nationally, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Wisconsin. We have our own, we do a drip on Mondays with moms offering lactation support that's a virtual and in-person. And Rose is located in Atlanta. Not sure if I mentioned that. I think I mentioned our reaching our brothers everywhere. They have a summit coming up and they're just really trying to get fathers involved in feeling supported in maternal health. So that's huge in our queen circle with again, the grandmothers and I personally am trying to do more work on advocating for black maternal mental health. Spoke at Shades of Blue, trying to do some stuff with them at their conference. So just trying to really get it out there that black mothers that we do suffer from these things, we do survive it and that there are others who have the same experience and we have a sense of community in that.
Rakiah - 00:41:17:
I'll just throw in there to make sure you follow us on all of our social medias. Thank you. Thank you all for having this conversation with me today. Thank you, Amber, Courtney, Maya, and Ebony. Thank you for taking the time to join us today to share your experiences and thank you all for listening. For more podcasts, videos, blogs, and maternal health content, visit the Maternal Health Learning Innovation Center website at maternalhealthlearning.org. We want to hear from you, so please tell us what you want to hear more of, review our podcasts, and share with like-minded innovators. We've got some great episode recordings coming now, so be sure you are subscribed. Let's keep talking. Tag us in your posts using the hashtag maternalhealthinnovation. And last but not least, I'm Rakiah Anderson and we'll see you again next week on the Maternal Health Innovation Podcast. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Service 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 referred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.