Dr. Ndidiya Maka Amutah-Onukagha

Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Dr. Mutana Kaga. I am the founder and director of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice, as well as the founder and director of the Mother Lab, which is a large research lab dedicated to training the next generation of maternal health scholar activists. I have 35 students in that lab.

Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Dr. Mutana Kaga. I am the founder and director of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice, as well as the founder and director of the Mother Lab, which is a large research lab dedicated to training the next generation of maternal health scholar activists. I have 35 students in that lab.

Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Dr. Mutana Kaga. I am the founder and director of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice, as well as the founder and director of the Mother Lab, which is a large research lab dedicated to training the next generation of maternal health scholar activists. I have 35 students in that lab.

I'm also a dean here in the School of Medicine and I have a consulting company. Thanks for having me.

I'm also a dean here in the School of Medicine and I have a consulting company. Thanks for having me.

I'm also a dean here in the School of Medicine and I have a consulting company. Thanks for having me.

A lot of my professional journey was shaped by personal tragedies. So I lost a friend of mine in childhood. She died from complications after giving birth. She had lupus and the pregnancy exacerbated her lupus. The hospital she delivered in was not equipped to handle a high-risk pregnancy.

A lot of my professional journey was shaped by personal tragedies. So I lost a friend of mine in childhood. She died from complications after giving birth. She had lupus and the pregnancy exacerbated her lupus. The hospital she delivered in was not equipped to handle a high-risk pregnancy.

A lot of my professional journey was shaped by personal tragedies. So I lost a friend of mine in childhood. She died from complications after giving birth. She had lupus and the pregnancy exacerbated her lupus. The hospital she delivered in was not equipped to handle a high-risk pregnancy.

I think experiencing that as a young person, I was 16, she was 15, and then experiencing the death of a colleague and friend in my adulthood, Dr. Shalon Irving, who was also a preventable case, had been seen eight times after delivery, should have been readmitted and prioritized, was not. and also died from complications after her delivery.

I think experiencing that as a young person, I was 16, she was 15, and then experiencing the death of a colleague and friend in my adulthood, Dr. Shalon Irving, who was also a preventable case, had been seen eight times after delivery, should have been readmitted and prioritized, was not. and also died from complications after her delivery.

I think experiencing that as a young person, I was 16, she was 15, and then experiencing the death of a colleague and friend in my adulthood, Dr. Shalon Irving, who was also a preventable case, had been seen eight times after delivery, should have been readmitted and prioritized, was not. and also died from complications after her delivery.

These types of events solidified my professional expertise and passion in Black maternal health. I also have training in this area. My doctorate is in maternal child health. I'm a woman with lived experience. I have children of my own, and I can firsthand see how the healthcare system does not prioritize and frankly fails to listen to Black women in the pregnancy and birthing process.

These types of events solidified my professional expertise and passion in Black maternal health. I also have training in this area. My doctorate is in maternal child health. I'm a woman with lived experience. I have children of my own, and I can firsthand see how the healthcare system does not prioritize and frankly fails to listen to Black women in the pregnancy and birthing process.

These types of events solidified my professional expertise and passion in Black maternal health. I also have training in this area. My doctorate is in maternal child health. I'm a woman with lived experience. I have children of my own, and I can firsthand see how the healthcare system does not prioritize and frankly fails to listen to Black women in the pregnancy and birthing process.

So that is both the personal and professional overview of how I came to do this work, addressing these systemic inequities and really questioning why do we see the disproportionate maternal mortality and morbidity around Black women.

So that is both the personal and professional overview of how I came to do this work, addressing these systemic inequities and really questioning why do we see the disproportionate maternal mortality and morbidity around Black women.

So that is both the personal and professional overview of how I came to do this work, addressing these systemic inequities and really questioning why do we see the disproportionate maternal mortality and morbidity around Black women.

I've been coupling that with the research aspect of it, so both quantitative and qualitative research, really trying to document how pervasive the impact of racism, environmental stressors, and unequal access to care is on Black women's bodies and birth outcomes. And then a lot of my work also includes authoring studies and being a principal investigator of research studies

I've been coupling that with the research aspect of it, so both quantitative and qualitative research, really trying to document how pervasive the impact of racism, environmental stressors, and unequal access to care is on Black women's bodies and birth outcomes. And then a lot of my work also includes authoring studies and being a principal investigator of research studies