Campus Conversations: Maternal Health and Women’s Knowledge

Hosted by the New College of Florida, this informal conversation will lay out the stakes of maternal health and birthing experience for Black women and their children in particular, bringing together a historian of medicine and a practicing doula to lead a discussion of these issues and share experiences with the audience. Participants include Amelia Villada, local birth consultant, doula, and Hypnobirthing practitioner in our community, and Dr. Maneesha Lal, Associate Director of Faculty Development and a scholar of health and illness history. Tragic costs to the health of Black women and their children of the intersection between access, culturally-competent care, and the social determinants of health, from the environment to the long-term impact of racism. We will focus in particular on the positive-how Black women and their communities work together to recognize and support mother and child through the birthing process.

“The knowledge about how to give birth is born within every woman: women do not need to be taught how to give birth but rather to have more trust and faith in their own body knowledge.” ~BirthWorks This panel will be grounded in their collective research and practice, engaging the audience through dialog and discussion.

Funding for this program is provided through a Florida Humanities Greater Good: Humanities in Academia Grant in partnership with the New College of Florida