April 11th was International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, Black Doula Day, and the first day of Black Maternal Health Week, phew!
While we at SisterWeb center Black maternal health 365 days a year, these awareness dates provide an opportunity for increased visibility of the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes and to celebrate the impactful work being done to uplift the Black birthing experience.
To commemorate April 11th and the subsequent days of Black Maternal Health Week, we sat down with Dr. Katie Brown, an OB-GYN at UCSF and a member of the Champion Dyad Initiative to learn from her experience as a healthcare provider and advocate for Black maternal health initiatives and programs like SisterWeb. Dr. Brown generously shared with us her unique perspective on a variety of topics that are integral to addressing Black maternal health such as doulas being part of the healthcare team, critical components required of any birthing justice initiatives, and her own experience as an OB-GYN working with patients supported by SisterWeb doulas.
When asked about her vision for the role of doulas on a healthcare team moving forward, Dr. Brown replied, “I think every patient should have access to doula care and I think every provider should have the opportunity to be enlightened by the type of support that doulas can provide.” We couldn’t agree more.
Thank you to Dr. Brown for sharing her lived experience, her thoughtful insights, and for her continual support of SisterWeb and our doulas!
Watch the video below to meet Dr. Brown and to learn more about her perspective and vision for uplifted and joyful Black birthing experiences in San Francisco and across the United States.
This blog post was written by Sam Rubey, Intern for the SisterWeb Evaluations Department and Master of Public Health (MPH) Candidate at Brown University School of Public Health Online Program with support and guidance from Sofía Carbone, SisterWeb's Communications Coordinator. Thank you Dr. Katie Brown for all your energy and wisdom.