Family health company Ovia Health is collaborating with the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC), an organization committed to optimizing maternal and infant health on a Black History Month content hub that includes a birth plan series and educational content about birth workers and birth equity designed to empower members of Ovia’s community.
Ovia Health was acquired by Labcorp last August and has served more than 17 million family and parenthood journeys since 2012. NBEC creates transnational solutions that optimize Black maternal, infant, and reproductive well-being. They shift systems and culture through training, research, technical assistance, policy, advocacy, and community-centered collaboration.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women die at roughly three times the rate of white women in pregnancy-related deaths. Ovia Health President Pamela Abbott explains: “Midwives have aided through the birth process across generations and were often the only resource that communities of color had until modern maternal medicine nearly eliminated the practice in the 20th century. Black doulas are stepping in to create an ecosystem of support for families across all socio-economic backgrounds with vital techniques, care, and culturally sensitive resources. Working with a birth worker can improve health outcomes, which is why we created this content as a source of much-needed answers for expectant mothers. Every family deserves strong foundational support for their birth journeys.”
Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, Founder and President of National Birth Equity Collaborative adds: “NBEC is thrilled to continue our ongoing partnership with Ovia Health and is grateful to have a partner who understands that any effective long-term strategy for ending the Black maternal health crisis must also include engaging birth workers who possess the talent, skill, and empathy that is too often missing from the care that Black mamas and their babies receive during and immediately following labor. As we celebrate Black History Month, NBEC is proud to uplift birth workers—including doulas and midwives—who are on the front lines of the maternal health crisis working to eradicate the harm so often inflicted on Black mamas and their babies.”
Resources will live in-app and extend across social and e-blasts from March 8, 2022.
