News

It's July! Catch up with PTBi

We’ve had over 1,500 people attend our 4 Collaboratories this year, 6 new publications, and so many partnerships built and fostered. Here's a recap of what we have been able to achieve together:

Hackers for Birth Justice: Recap of Our First Hackathon

In early June, the California Preterm Birth Initiative (PTBi) and Twilio co-hosted Hackers for Birth Justice — the first annual Hackathon event where tech and birth equity meet to improve Black infant and maternal health outcomes. Imagine what we can achieve when we put tech experts and mothers...

Black Fertility Matters: Stories, Myths, and Resources from Provider and Community Champions

Black families are almost never depicted on billboards or in informational brochures on infertility. Yet Black women are 1.5-2 times more likely to experience infertility than all other women. The myth of Black women’s hyperfertility, a product of Black enslavement, continues to be perpetuated in...

Abortion Resources Following The Dobbs Ruling

All people should have full access to all healthcare options—including abortion. Listed below are resources for those whose options are restricted and uplift organizations that are working to protect reproductive rights and access.

Rally for Black Birth Justice

We held the first California Rally for Black Birth Justice on May 11! Take part in an ongoing movement to mobilize statewide solutions for improved Black infant and maternal health outcomes. Share your call for Black birth justice with our social media toolkit. Access it here!

Bringing an Anti-Racism Lens to Implementation Research: Centering Communities to Inform Prenatal Care in Fresno

Fresno County has one of California's highest preterm birth rates, especially among Black families residing in West Fresno. How can we better center people with lived experiences in monitoring and evaluating the success of an intervention?

Coping with the Reality of Anti-Blackness in America: Black Moms Discuss “The 400 Year Holocaust” by Dante King

Over a million Black women give birth and become mothers each year in the U.S. For Black Maternal Health Week, we invited Black moms in America to share how they navigate an inherently anti-Black society while building healthy and thriving lives for themselves, their children, and their families.

Remembering Gary Thompson, Beloved CAB Member

Read Gary's Voices for Birth Justice Profile

Supporting COVID-Positive Pregnant and Parenting People: Community Perspectives, Challenges, and Solutions

The existing health care system actively harms Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) birthing people. Racial discrimination and bias contributed to both disrespectful care and adverse birth outcomes. Due to the pandemic, efforts to flatten the curve limited the support systems created to...

PTBi Community Gives Back By Providing NICU Care Packages

In honor of World Prematurity Day, PTBi Comunity Advisory Board (CAB) members gathered supplies and materials to drop off thoughtful care packages to NICU parents at Children’s’ Oakland, UCSF Mission Bay, and Zuckerberg General Hospital.