April Newsletter: Black Maternal Health Week Recap

We hope you found meaningful and exciting ways to celebrate Black Maternal Health Week 2025. BMHW25 celebrated the leadership and expertise of Black community-based organizations as the foundation for advancing equity and ensuring transformative, sustainable improvements in Black Maternal Health. Check out the webinar replays featuring BGBC Founder, Ayanna Robinson, PhD, MPH and our birth and breastfeeding workshop hosted in partnership with Mercy Health in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"Mama's Milk—Collective Action for Nourishing Families through Community Milk Sharing"

This insightful webinar featured Jazmin Williams, Founding Director of BLKBRY, who shared information on community milk sharing, the ways it strengthens breastfeeding by making donor milk more accessible to Black families, and how community milk sharing can help reclaim our legacy of lactation in this country. Watch the replay of the YouTube Live here.

"Birth, Babies, and Breastfeeding" Maternal Health Workshop with Mercy Health

In collaboration with Mercy Health, on April 19th, BGBC hosted a 3 hour educational workshop to provide community members with essential information to prepare for pregnancy, breastfeeding, and postpartum health. Attendees were connected to maternal health resources through Mercy Health and received copies of our bEarth Work pregnancy and postpartum workbook. This intergenerational event was attended by pregnant women, families, and community leaders. The event included subject matter expert presentations led by family medicine physician, Dr. Ashley Mallory, and BGBC Founder, Dr. Ayanna Robinson, as well as, a question and answer panel featuring the presenters and doulas. We look forward to collaborating with Mercy Health again in the future.

"Healing Legacies:

Using Data to Improve Black Maternal Health Outcomes"

On April 14th, Black Mamas Matter Alliance hosted a webinar, moderated by Dr. Ayanna Robinson, that explored how research and data can drive meaningful change in Black Maternal Health outcomes. The panel featured expert speakers, Kimberly Seals Allers (Founder and CEO, Irth App),  Dr. Karen Sheffield-Abdullah (Founder and CEO, Dr. Karen, LLC), and Dr. Sayida Peprah (Executive Director, Diversity Uplifts, Inc.). During this webinar presenters shared their findings and discussed how data can be leveraged to shape policies, improve care, and advance health equity for Black Mamas and birthing people. Watch this engaging webinar, which is available at the following link: Using Data to Improve Black Maternal Health Outcomes.

Other Updates from Black Girls' Breastfeeding Club

New Training Available! "Conducting Culturally Responsive Focus Groups in Research and Evaluation"

Are you interested in learning how to conduct culturally responsive focus groups or providing training on this topic for your organization? During the Black Maternal Health Conference and Training Institute, BGBC Founder, Dr. Ayanna Robinson, and Dr. Nia Mitchell provided a full day training titled, "Conducting Culturally Responsive Focus Groups in Research and Evaluation". This training provided attendees with an overview of culturally responsive focus groups, including best practices, frameworks, and considerations across design, implementation, analysis. For questions or to learn more about offering this training to your organization, please contact us at blackgirlsbreastfeedingclub@gmail.com.

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bEarth Work Journal

Our bEarth Work Journal has been popular among mamas to be and birthworkers. It is a workbook intentionally designed with you and your pregnancy in mind. Add it to your pregnancy resources and keepsakes today.

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