News

Happy Holidays from PTBi

Dear PTBi friends and family, As we approach the close of the year, we want to extend our warmest holiday wishes to you and your loved ones. The season is a time for gratitude, and we find ourselves reflecting on our incredible shared journey. 

Celebrating Unity and Healing at the San Francisco County Black Birthworker Retreat

Experience the transformative unity and healing at the San Francisco County Black Birthworker Retreat.

I hope to be a mother one day.

Interim Executive Director Solaire Spellen urges us to amplify our voices, support critical initiatives, and address systemic racism in maternal healthcare. This #WorldPrematurityDay, let's commit to change.

Holiday Greetings from PTBi Leadership

PTBi leadership, Larry Rand, Alexis Cobbin, and Solaire Spellen reaffirm our commitment to anti-racism and celebrate current programs and initiatives to bring in the new year.

Uplifting Black Breastfeeding with Community Resources, Culturally Concordant Care, Legal Aid, and Hospital Policy

Breast/chestfeeding is an important mechanism that can provide significant health benefits for both the postpartum person and their infant. In San Francisco, 94% of mothers surveyed intended to breastfeed after birth and 70% of those women hoped to exclusively breastfeed.

RecomMENDations for Healing a Biased Healthcare System

Implicit bias training is now mandated for providers in California. Designed to tackle the racial disparity gap in maternal health outcomes, the intent of SB464 is to improve clinical outcomes for Black women and birthing people. However, it is unknown whether implicit bias training has a...

In The News: 'Aftershock' Confronts The Black Maternal Health Crisis — PTBi Interviewed

There is a maternal health crisis in the U.S. and Black women are most affected. Black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than white women, according to the CDC.

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...