“It's the New Orleans way!”

This year our Chief Impact Officer, Dr. Lisa Richardson, and our Sr. Program Manager for Maternal and Child Health (MCH), Meshawn Tarver, got the opportunity to interview many of our MCH partners about our various projects. The quote above is from one of our clinical providers in regards to the best way to connect patients to other providers for vital services. Simply put, it really just means picking up a phone to call or text. We chose this quote to reflect our journey this past year, because at the end of the day, this is how we had to accomplish our MCH work during 2021, even after getting used to the adjustments we made to our normal ways of operating in 2020! In-person prenatal visits switched to tele-health appointments. Support groups that served as a safe gathering place for moms switched to Zoom rooms. And with these adjustments (and more!), there wasn’t always a time to “switch off.” Moms had to bring their entire lives with them into these virtual spaces, and we had to figure out how to still do the work and make it meaningful and special for moms, despite setbacks or important distractions like lack of technological access, or the realities of raising a family like cooking dinner or reading kids a bedtime story. Through research, advocacy work and provider trainings, we worked hard to make sure moms could enjoy the little moments with their families, hopefully stress free!

So how did we manage all of this during the pandemic? Well, by doing it the New Orleans way, of course.

We picked up the phone and called and text moms, partners, clinicians elected officials and everyone in between to keep the work going and to keep advocating for better outcomes for mothers. We recruited mothers to participate in focus groups and in-depth interviews to hear what they needed, how they’re treated and where the gaps are in services. We reached out to share resources and helpful information with moms left behind during Hurricane Ida. We even scheduled Sunday Zoom meetings with lawmakers to educate them and advocate for important policy changes that were later reflected in key legislation. No matter what obstacles came our way, we focused on the joy of bringing life into this world.

Thanks to our dedicated team and strong collaborations with both our Merck for Mothers partners—the National Birth Equity Collaborative and the Birthmark Doulas—and other birth advocates, we’re proud to say that we successfully advocated for not one, but ten policy changes this year!

In conjunction with these legislative wins and as a result of our advocacy efforts and history of work within the mental health field, we were asked to lead Louisiana’s Perinatal Mental Health Task Force. A report on our findings from the task force will be released in 2022, along with a report on the research we conducted on out-of-hospital births. Similarly, thanks to our active participation in the Alliance for the Innovation in Maternal Health Community Care Initiative, we were also asked to co-lead the initiative for its remaining three years. Although we already achieved a lot of policy wins locally, we will continue to meet with folks, conduct interviews and conduct research as we prepare reports, briefs and advocacy materials for the 2022 session.

It’s no secret that this past year has brought about some truly difficult times for folks—personally, professionally, and everywhere in between—yet we are grateful that both the pandemic and Hurricane Ida have helped bring us even closer to our MCH partners. Life is always a struggle for balance, and although this year felt like we were carrying a heavier burden than we have in the past, we know that in the long run it will all balance back out, and we’re happy we were able to celebrate the joy of life and health as we prepare for the next struggle.

To get in touch with our MCH program, please reach out to Meshawn Tarver (Siddiq) MPH, HBCE, Senior Program Manager for Maternal and Child Health.