On Sept. 19, the AAMC organized an exhibit booth at District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser’s sixth annual Maternal and Infant Health Summit. The summit drew over 1,000 attendees, including local families, community-based organizations, health experts, and elected officials. The summit’s programming focused on strategies to improve maternal and perinatal health outcomes and reduce health disparities, as well as support mothers and parents in their transition back into the workforce. Representatives from AAMC-member institutions, including Victoria Revelle and Rochanda Mitchell, MD (Howard University Hospital); Lisa-Marie Cook (George Washington University Hospital); and Matt Hoffman, MD, MPH (ChristianaCare), were featured in a plenary session exploring partnerships between health care providers and community-based organizations.
Throughout the event, AAMC staff highlighted efforts by local member institutions to improve maternal and infant health outcomes and advance birthing equity. In addition, staff discussed several association-led initiatives, including work by the AAMC’s Center for Health Justice and the AAMC’s ongoing maternal mental health learning series, “Improving Maternal Mental Health Outcomes: Varied Approaches to Closing the Gap of Care.