Six of our MCH students attended the 2020 annual meeting of the American Public Health Association(APHA), held October 24-28, 2020, online. What follows is a post from one of the attendees.
By Brianna Betton, BA
This year, I had the opportunity to attend APHA from the comfort of my own home. Attending my first APHA conference virtually wasn’t what I had envisioned, but it left me feeling inspired by all the incredible work being done around the nation in spite of everything going on in the world.
During the Black Mamas Matter session, “Mistreatment and Violence Against Birthing Persons,” I was eager to learn about how I could incorporate the knowledge into my public health toolkit. Throughout the session, I was exposed to several counter-cultural frameworks that center women and their desires for care. The presentation by Sadiya Peprah, PsyD focused on how community doulas have been an integral part of combating violence. My takeaway from Dr. Peprah’s presentation was that community collaboration is imperative in the fight to achieve reproductive equity for all women. I left the session feeling inspired about the community-level work and how much is being done to empower community health workers.
I entered the maternal and child health field because I was appalled at the disproportionate rates of maternal mortality in African American women in the United States. I decided to pursue my MPH because I felt that I needed more knowledge and tools to become a better equipped public health professional. So far graduate school has been filled with endless zoom meetings, breakout rooms, and GroupMe. Within all the chaos, I have been so consumed with passing my classes that I forgot why I even decided to start my program. This conference and the Black Mamas Matter session in particular helped to remind me of why I chose to be a public health worker. I want to dismantle systems that are historically oppressive to BIPOC. I desire to work to secure affordable and equitable reproductive health care for Black women through engaging in policy work and community-based health work. I am excited of the plethora of programming and recognition that birth workers receive for their impact and dedication to communities!
Brianna Betton, BA, is a first-year MPH student concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2022. Her interests include historical trauma in African American communities, racial health disparities, and doula-centered care. She enjoys reading books, cooking, and nature walks.
