The Center for Research on Families’ Tay Gavin Lecture series will welcome Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha to present “Black Women and Maternal Health Inequities: Addressing the Role of Racism,” which will be held on Thursday, May 4, at 4 p.m. in the UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College East Room. The lecture will also be available via Zoom.   

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Throughout U.S. history, women of color have disproportionately suffered reproductive injustices. Implicit medical bias, unequal distribution of resources and a death of consistent, timely prenatal care and obstetrics aggravates existing disparities. Currently, Black women in the U.S. are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication compared to White women. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha's presentation will explore the complexities of these issues with an emphasis on community-based research and responses.  

Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Her current research interests include maternal health disparities, reproductive health and social justice, infant mortality and HIV/AIDS in Black women. She also serves as the inaugural assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion for public health and professional degree programs. In 2022, Dr. Amutah-Onukagha founded the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University School of Medicine, one of the first centers dedicated nationwide to addressing maternal health inequities. 

The Tay Gavin lecture series began in 1999 through an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson. 

Registration for the May 4 lecture can be found here: https://forms.gle/2CvgCM99oAaaEn4F6. For more information: [email protected].