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Oklahoma Birth Equity Initiative details community doula, hospital work to address Black maternal and infant mortality in Tulsa
Summary
At an April meeting of the City of Tulsa's Beyond Apology Commission, Amari Jemison of the Oklahoma Birth Equity Initiative described community-based doula services, hospital TeamBirth pilots and other programs aimed at narrowing disparities in maternal and infant outcomes for Black and Indigenous families in Oklahoma.
Amari Jemison, executive director of the Oklahoma Birth Equity Initiative (OK Bay), urged the Beyond Apology Commission on Thursday to support local efforts to reduce Black maternal and infant mortality by expanding community-based doula services, midwifery and hospital practices that center patient preference.
OK Bay provides no-cost, community-based doula support to people who identify as Black, Native/Indigenous, Latinx, teens, and people navigating the justice system or substance-use treatment. "We equip families to have healthy births with dignity," Jemison said in her presentation, describing OK Bay's work in Tulsa with doulas, hospital quality improvement and community programs.
Why it matters: In Oklahoma, Jemison said, Black women are about 3.2 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, and Native women about 2.8 times more likely. She and…
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