In Raleigh on August 14, The Black Pearls Society, in collaboration with Wake County Government and Wake Area Health Education Center, will host the 3rd Annual Black Maternal & Infant Health Conference, aimed at addressing the racial disparities that mark the health outcomes for African American mothers and their babies, as reported by Wake County Government's news release. The conference will be held at the McKimmon Conference & Training Center at NC State, running from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and will gather professionals across various fields to discuss and devise strategies to transform healthcare systems for the betterment of Black maternal and infant health.
Wake County Commissioner Safiyah Jackson underscored the critical nature of this effort, stating, "The number of infant and adult lives lost is a clear calling for an urgent response. We can’t continue to ask Black mothers to be resilient without addressing the root causes that make resilience necessary," emphasizing the need for systemic solutions over mere individual perseverance. The theme of this year's meeting, Healing the Water: Transforming Systems for Black Maternal & Infant Health, not only acknowledges the current state of healthcare challenges facing Black mothers but also endeavors to realign the focus toward tangible changes in policy and practice, which is crucially required to support the birthing experience and infant care, Wake County's press statement details.
The event is not just a talk shop; it is poised to be a fertile ground for an evidence-based exchange of ideas, lessons, and best practices, with sessions on antiracist clinical practices and community-based doula support among others. Furthermore, the conference aims to highlight the significance of intra-professional collaborations and community-led initiatives that can foster a culturally responsive and equitable healthcare framework, particularly emphasizing perinatal mental health and the push for progressive policy changes.
Elucidating the conference's mission, Dr. Stephanie Baker, co-chair of the conference and Associate Professor of Public Health at Elon University, told Wake County Government, "We are doing a better job as a society to talk the talk of understanding the impact of systems and structures, but even as we say those words, we aren’t always keeping our analysis or our solutions at the systems and structures levels," outlining the conference's approach towards systemic rather than individualistic interventions, with the hopes of steering more people towards engaging with this critical perspective. The registration fee for the conference is $50, and it includes a spread of amenities such as breakfast, lunch, conference materials, and parking, additionally, the event attendees will be eligible for continuing education credits through Wake AHEC.
Past iterations of the Black Maternal & Infant Health Conference have made significant strides towards bringing greater awareness and action to this pressing issue. The inaugural event held in Guilford County and the subsequent one in Durham County featured poignant discussions and initiatives, such as the AfterShock Documentary viewing and the incorporation of the Dads for Doulas organization, which helped to spotlight the vital role of fathers in the conversation. This year's theme promises to delve even deeper into the systems and structures that perpetuate racial health inequalities, with the ultimate goal of fostering an equitable healthcare environment for Black mothers and infants, the Wake County news release indicates.
