Speaker
Lucinda Canty

Speaker Bio
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife and currently an Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her BSN from Columbia University and her MSN from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing. She is an artist, poet, and historian. She provides women's health care at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. She currently hosts web discussions Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing. She is the founder of Lucinda’s House, a Black Maternal Health Collective to eliminate racial disparities in maternal health through community collaboration and programs that provide support and education.

Course Description
Black women have a long history of poor maternal health outcomes. Black women are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication and twice as likely to experience severe maternal morbidity when compared to White women. A serious gap exists in our knowledge of health disparities in maternal health. There is also a gap in the literature on the experience of Black women during childbirth and among those who experienced severe maternal morbidity. Midwives should be aware, their interactions influence women’s mental wellbeing when they suffered a life-threatening complication and the need for culturally sensitive care. Further studies are needed to examine Black women’s experiences during childbirth and the relationship with health care providers. The voices of Black women can provide perspective into the unique challenges that Black women face during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.

Learning Objectives
1. Identify factors that influence Black women's experience of severe maternal morbidity.
2. Describe care practices that are perceived by Black women as promotive or potentially destructive to the healthcare provider-patient relationship during childbirth or the postpartum period.
3. Identify aspects of care that certified nurse-midwives/certified midwives could provide to address the needs of Black women who experience a life-threatening complication during birth or postpartum.

CEUs Offered: 1 CE

Course Expiration: May 25, 2023