Louisiana Legislative Wins & Black Maternal Mental Health Week
This event was organized by IWES, Training Grounds and the H.E.R. Institute during Black Maternal Mental Health Week at the WePLAY Center for moms and caregivers of babies to discuss the adjustments of being a new mom.
This year our Maternal and Child Health (MCH) team has been diligently working to bring research, collaboration and policy together to improve Louisiana’s maternal and infant health outcomes. Last year the team conducted various focus groups to hear from birthing people and those who care for them (OB/GYNs, nurses and midwives). As our team works to analyze this large collection of qualitative data, we have pulled some preliminary results that fed into the MCH policy work that was done in preparation for the 2021 Louisiana Legislative session. Our partners in the MAMA + Health Policy Agenda—the Amandla Group, the Birthmark Doula Collective and the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC)—combined the knowledge of subject matter experts, individuals with lived experience, and scientific data to educate lawmakers on a variety of MCH issues and how policy can be used to improve outcomes.
As a result, ten out of the thirteen bills and resolutions the group either recommended or supported passed during the legislative session!
If you’re interested in finding out more details about the passage of these bills, follow this link. To be involved more in the process, sign on to be an advocate in the Maternal and Child Health Coalition here.
This quarter we had the privilege of working directly with State Representative Matthew Willard. Representative Willard sponsored HB 190, a bill that establishes Louisiana’s Doula Registry Board and prohibits discrimination of the reimbursement of midwifery care, and a bill that has now been signed by Gov. Bel Edwards as Act 182. We were also happy to work with State Representative Royce Duplessis, who sponsored House Concurrent Resolutions 103 and 105, both of which were passed uncontested. HCR 103 requests state agencies to address maternal mental health issues. HCR 105 establishes the creation of a Louisiana Maternal Mental Health Task Force, and we’re excited to announce that IWES will serve as the lead for this task force! We look forward to further advocacy opportunities to educate legislators about the issues Louisiana mothers—particularly Black mothers—face so that we can improve outcomes for birthing people.
This quarter we also participated in Black Maternal Mental Health Week, which took place from July 19-25. During that time we took the opportunity to shed more light on multiple facets of maternal mental health, and also used the the time to talk about our recent advocacy efforts. On Monday, July 19th we kicked the week off by sharing a video from our Founder/CEO, Dr. Denese Shervington, and our Chief Impact Officer, Dr. Lisa Richardson, that provides a general understanding of the context for the week and why we need to talk more about the unique factors that impact Black maternal mental health (see below). Dr. Shervington highlighted the roots of maternal mental health, reminding us that it doesn’t start just with the birthing person and their child, but that it also goes back generations before and carries generations into the future. The week continued with more videos from maternal and child health supporters, such as the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative’s Medical Director, Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, who discussed the warning signs for post-partum depression. We also shared a video from Krystina Muhammad, Communications Specialist at NBEC, who spoke about the importance of self-care for moms, pulling from her professional and personal experience as a mother of an infant and preschool-aged sons. Representative Duplessis also shared a video where he spoke about the recent legislative wins and the establishment of the new task force. And finally, we closed out the week in gratitude with a video from Our Sr. Program Manager for Maternal and Child Health, Meshawn Tarver, who encouraged all moms to include practices of gratitude and affirmation in their regular routines in order to instill hope and joy in their lives. We’re thankful to be a part of local and national efforts to raise more awareness of the complex issues involved in maternal mental health, so that we can work strategically and collectively to improve our community’s health and well-being.