November
Connecting Cells to Community: A Symposium on Placental Research
The symposium, in part, focused on the science of human placenta (the organ that connects mother/birthing person and baby during pregnancy). The event was the culmination of our community engagement efforts of the Placenta (single cell) Atlas study, for which we developed and managed the UCSF Placenta Atlas Community Advisory Board.
Community Research Toolkit
At the Connecting Cells to Community Symposium, we also presented our toolkit designed to support researchers who want to collaborate with community members. The session included a hands-on workshop that demonstrated how to prioritize community partnership through a series of research scenarios, exercises, and discussions.
Community Data Innovators
The participants, Sabra Bell and Karent Novelo, spent 12 weeks with us piloting a program that puts community members in the lead to discuss, question, and practice working with our California births dataset, which has millions of records. Rather than treating data as an exclusive resource, the pilot explored leveraging this tool to develop and examine questions that are directly aligned with community and movement priorities and concerns.
October
2025 California Black Birth Equity Summit
The Center for Birth Justice was a co-host and part of the backbone planning for the Summit. Team members presented several sessions, including one on findings from the EMBRACE study that featured Dr. Miriam Kuppermann. Additionally, Executive Director Areca Smit led a workshop, “Camping While Black,” which explored camping as a tool for rest, joy, and emergency preparedness. We co-convened an Advocacy Roundtable at the Capitol, attended by state politicians for strategic discussions about policy and systemic change. We also facilitated a special community-building gathering for all UC-affiliated participants to foster more collaborative efforts in advancing Black birth justice across the UC system.
Rockwood Leadership Institute
Center for Birth Justice Executive Director Areca Smit was selected to be a part of the Prenatal to Three Power Building Fellowship. Funded by the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, the 2025 cohort includes advocates from California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Michigan.
International Conference on Stillbirth and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death
California Preterm Birth Initiative (PTBi) Affiliated Senior Emerita Faculty member Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski and PTBi epidemiologists Rebecca Baer and Scott Oltman presented two projects: “Maternal and infant risk factors for sudden unexplained death in childhood in a California population,” and “Early Newborn Metabolic Patterns and Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.”
September
Reflections Video Series
Community Advisory Board (CAB) History & Future: Reflections from CAB Members, the final video in our Reflections series, is now available to view. Filled with personal stories from mothers with lived experiences of preterm births, advocates, and community leaders, the final video focuses on how PTBi’s CAB came to be and the lessons learned along the way.
July
Center & Care Study
Launched during Kayla Karvonen’s PTBi Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, this qualitative study examining the obstacles that Black families with preterm infants face after leaving the Newborn Intensive Care Unit was published.
May
Books for Birth Justice
One of the first initiatives of the Center for Birth Justice, the book club read, discussed, and learned from adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy while deepening community connections. We plan to relaunch with a new book during Black Maternal Health Week.
Black Birth Workers Retreat
Once again, the Center for Birth Justice served as a partner at this gathering of San Francisco birthworkers, healthcare providers, educators, and community advocates to rest, reset, and reflect together on new strategies and perspectives on doing the work.
April
Engaging Mothers and Babies; Reimagining Antenatal Care for Everyone (EMBRACE) Study Completed
The study that compares outcomes of group and individual prenatal care models led by PTBi’s Director of Interventions Across the Reproductive Lifecourse, Dr. Miriam Kuppermann, has finished and is hard at work analyzing the results. We are excited to share the results in the coming year.
SisterWalks: Movement for Black Maternal Joy
We loved this series of walks at some of San Francisco’s most beautiful parks and outdoor spaces, co-created with SisterWeb. It was designed for new or expecting mothers, birthworkers, but open to all, to build health and community, while taking up a little more space together.
PTBi Research Presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Conference
Scott Oltman, an epidemiologist with PTBi, presented five studies as posters at the conference, including one he led on the specific metabolic changes in newborns who receive skin-to-skin contact.
Year Around
Coalition for Black Birth Justice
We proudly partner with the California Coalition for Black Birth Justice, a groundbreaking statewide organization that unifies Black women leaders across California to advance birth equity and justice through community organizing, policy advocacy, and systems change within healthcare organizations.
Bringing Up California
We are a member and part of the steering committee of this multiracial, multi-sector coalition (funded by the Pritzker Children’s Initiative) united by a bold vision: to make California the best state in which to have, raise, and be a child.
Black Mamas Meet Up
A bimonthly virtual postpartum support group meeting that included three in-person events co-hosted with EMBRACE (UCSF clinical program), Committed to Black Wellness, and Kindezi Black Perinatal Wellness, part of RAMS (Richmond Area Multi-Services).
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