Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Connecticut webinar spotlights racial disparities in maternal health and policy levers to expand doula care
Summary
Speakers at an Office of Early Childhood webinar described how systemic racism, provider bias and social determinants fuel worse maternal outcomes for Black women and urged policy steps — including Medicaid reimbursement and doula certification — to expand culturally aligned supports.
Elena Truworthy, deputy commissioner at the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, convened a webinar titled “Do you hear me? Do you see me? Do you care?” that brought community leaders, clinicians and advocates together to discuss racial disparities in maternal health.
Keynote speaker Ayesha Clark, executive director of Health Equity Solutions, recounted a personal birth experience in which she said staff initially doubted she was in active labor until she insisted she belonged in the hospital. Clark used the story to argue that Black women are often not heard or seen in clinical settings and to frame maternal outcomes as a racial-justice issue.
Clark and panelists pointed to data and concrete policy levers. Clark noted that Medicaid covers “two-thirds of births among Black and Indigenous…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
