Maternal health disparities are a pressing issue in the United States and globally. The National Institute of Health reports that 50,000 women in the United States suffer from pregnancy complications annually, and Black women are at least three times more likely to die due to pregnancy-related complications when compared to white women. One in three US families cannot afford diapers and the price of baby formula and other items continues to increase. The average price of diapers has increased by 14% in a year on top of diaper taxing. These price increases have made it especially difficult for low-income families to afford these kinds of postpartum resources The pandemic has only exacerbated these disparities. Raising a child is a huge financial burden for a family. In 2018, "the annual price of a child care center for two children under age 5 was estimated at $20,544" (American Progress, 2019). These kinds of price increases disproportionally impact low-income BIPOC families, making it critical that we target this problem.
The Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research Lab (MOTHER) strives to address and eradicate the inequities that Black women face through research, advocacy, and mentorship by confronting and dismantling the system that enables and perpetuates racism for Black birthing people.
Our mission is to achieve a world where BIPOC-birthing people who want to become mothers can efficiently and comfortably receive equitable access to high-quality healthcare. Our goal is to create a world where black women do not face maternal health complications due to racism, homophobia, and sexism.
During my Laidlaw project, I will specifically be working with the Community Engagement, Advocacy, and Policy Committee (CEAP) of the MOTHER lab, which aims to create and strengthen relationships with community partners and tackle the social structures that are currently failing Black birthing people.
The CEAP committee of the MOTHER lab is currently working on creating Nurture kits, which are a postpartum resource that provides necessary supplies to low-income families who may not otherwise be able to afford them. These resources include breast pumps, portable changing pads, and other postpartum resources.
The Nurture Kit initiative is critical as maternal health disparities continue to expand. The purpose of the Mother Lab "Nurture Kits" program is to raise money for expecting mothers and guardians who are low-income while raising awareness about access to essential postpartum resources. These Nurture Kits aim to provide 40 prep packs for expectant families and families with newborns that need these resources. We plan on partnering with local organizations like Rosie's Place, Resilient Sisterhood, Project Lily Marcelin, and Nneka Hall -QUILT to deliver the kits.
For my research project, I will be investigating the impact of our Nurture Kits on alleviating the burden for low-income families; based upon our survey response from Nurture Kit recipients, I will adjust our resource allocation and Nurture Kit design to maximize its benefit for low-income BIPOC families. To conduct this research project, we will first, provide additional funding for our Nurture kits to aim for our 40 Nurture kit goal. Secondly, we will plan one community outreach event in Boston over the 6-week research period to raise awareness about the Nurture kits and other postpartum resources. This social event will involve recipients of the Nurture Kits. We plan to host doulas and other maternal health experts during these events to provide postpartum support and education for new parents. Thirdly, we will design a survey to ask recipients about their experience with the nurture kits. Specifically, we will ask recipients about the most significant benefits of the resource kits and the parts of these resource kits that may need to be improved or adjusted to better suit their needs. To facilitate survey responses, we will use the funds of the Laidlaw Program to compensate respondents and fund our community outreach event. Throughout the 6 weeks, we will compile the results of these surveys and adjust our resource allocation, marketing, education outreach, and kits accordingly.