Patients R Waiting initiative to hold free Black maternal health event

A free, open-to-the-public event intended to advance Black maternal health will be held in Lancaster April 11 by the Diversifying Doulas Initiative.

The event also celebrates five years of Diversifying Doulas, a program of the local nonprofit Patients R Waiting that aims to use doula care to decrease maternal death and complications among people of color, according to co-founder Dr. Sharee Livingston. The initiative focuses on increasing the number of Black and brown doulas, and on providing fully subsidized doula care to people of color, she said. A doula is a trained, non-medical professional who provides support during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.

Livingston said that her vision is for everyone — from health care organization leaders, mothers, and midwives to doulas, clergy and nurses — to walk away from the event with a tool to improve maternal health outcomes in the country.

Keynote speakers will be Shawnee Benton Gibson and Omari Maynard, Livingston said, the mother and partner of a woman who died after childbirth, who were subjects of the documentary film Aftershock. The keynotes will be followed by a town hall-style discussion on solutions to the Black maternal health crisis with state Secretary of Human Services Valerie Arkoosh and legislators from across the region.

The UPMC Pinnacle Foundation is proud to support Diversifying Doulas.

“Patients R Waiting that aims to use doula care to decrease maternal death and complications among people of color”

— Dr. Sharee Livingston, co-founder, Diversifying Doulas

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