Seun O. Ross and Lorina Marshall Blake (Photo credit: Jared Gruenwald/Left Eyed Studios)
This month, Independence Blue Cross (Independence) and Cocolife.black hosted a roundtable discussion on Black maternal health.
The roundtable discussion, “Birth Workers Roundtable: A conversation to acknowledge, engage, and empower birth workers and health professionals as they support our moms,” took place during Black Maternal Health Week, April 11-17. It focused on how to best address the disparities in maternal health care and share resources.
Seun O. Ross, Ph.D., executive director of Health Equity at Independence, and Lorina Marshall-Blake, vice president of Community Affairs at Independence and president of the Independence Blue Cross Foundation, were part of the roundtable discussion. They were joined by:
- Janay Hawthorne, Pennsylvania State Representative candidate
- Bria Anderson, creator of the Millennial Mom personal lifestyle blog
- Joel Austin, president and CEO of Daddy University
- Tiffany Barrett, doula and doula educator
- Anika Tillery, founder of Writings on the Wall (moderator)
- Leroy Miles, associate pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church (moderator)
Cocolife.black is a community resource available to the public and is designed to support Black and Brown moms during pregnancy, postpartum, and loss of a child or significant loved one. It provides easy access to education and community resources such as free diapers, formula, and childcare services.