Join out team members Drs. Dara Mendez, Sonya Borrero, Mehret Birru Talabi, and Greer Donley as they speak at the Let’s Talk about Reproductive Justice happening next week, April 17th.
Let’s Talk about Reproductive Justice
Mendez
Comparative Assessment of Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates From 24-Hour Recall and Since Birth Methods in Southwestern Pennsylvania Using Ecological Momentary Assessment
Drs. Jill Demirci and Dara Mendez's study looked at 24-hour recall assessing exclusive breastfeeding was higher than the since birth rates across all ages and maternal characteristics. The difference between the two methods at 3 months was 25.7% and at 6 months was a 17.2%. Findings highlight the importance of specificity in measuring and reporting exclusive breastfeeding.
Read more about their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37675868/
Racial inequities in drug tests ordered by clinicians for pregnant people who disclose substance use
Drs. Mendez, Jarlenski, Chang, and their team measured racial inequities in drug testing among pregnant people and found that clinicians were more likely to order urine drug testing for Black patients compared with their White counterparts.
Read more of their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37769307/
Overlap between birth trauma and mistreatment
Drs. Cynthia Salter, Judy Chang, and Dara Mendez collaborated on a qualitative analysis exploring American clinician perspectives on patient birth experiences looking at birth trauma and mistreatment. This study contributes new insight into maternity clinicians' conceptualization of patient trauma and how their descriptions of birth trauma overlap with mistreatment. Clinicians implicitly connected mistreatment with some patient experiences of birth trauma, even when they were not specifically asked about mistreatment.
Stress, social support, and racial differences: Dominant drivers of exclusive breastfeeding
Findings by Drs. Dara Mendez, Jill Demirci, and Esa Davis show that:
- Childbearing people who reported higher perceived stress were less likely to breastfeed exclusively
- Perceived social support moderated perceived stress, thereby increasing the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding
- Received social support did not moderate perceived stress; however, it directly increased the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding
- Overall, Black childbearing people in our study were less likely to exclusively breastfeed
Association of Driving Distance to Maternity Hospitals and Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes
Dr. Sarah Minion, Dr. Elizabeth Krans, and Dr. Dara Mendez found in a recent study that longer driving distance to the delivery hospital was associated with greater risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in Pennsylvania.
Naming Silence and Inadequate Obstetric Care as Obstetric Violence
Dr. Dara Mendez and Dr. Judy Chang response article addresses the questions raised in “How Gentle Must Violence Against Women be in Order to not be Violent? Rethinking the Word ‘Violence; in Obstetric Settings” and concludes that naming violence is critical for describing people’s experiences of such violence and for addressing the structures and contexts that create and fuel such violence, not for judgment but for accountability and change.
Call for Artists Extended
This call for Black artists in the Pittsburgh region, Allegheny County, and South Western Pennsylvania seeks work highlighting gestation, child birth, child loss, postpartum, and more.
Learn more and apply here: https://pmoms.pitt.edu/news/Call-for-Artists
The Intersections of Inequity, Justice, and Health: Reproductive Autonomy for All
We worked with Pitt's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion on The Intersections of Inequity, Justice, and Health: Reproductive Autonomy for All as part of the 2022 Diversity Forum. Meet our amazing panelists:
Is high police presence in Minneapolis associated with an increased risk of preterm birth?
Dr. Dara Mendez and her team looked at neighborhoods in Minneapolis with high police presence to see if there's an association with preterm births. Findings suggest that increased police presence may contribute to the persistent preterm birth disparities.