The Practical Playbook III: Working Together to Improve Maternal Health

Released: February 2024 Length: 624 Pages Published By: Oxford University Press Price: $49.95
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Since publishing The Practical Playbook II in 2019, there has been growing recognition of increased maternal deaths and poor maternal health outcomes disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the United States. Practitioners are often unaware or unequipped to understand the inequities faced by historically marginalized populations in maternal health care.

The Practical Playbook III is a guide for researchers, community activists, and advocates of maternal health offering practical tools and strategies to improve inequities in maternal health. This third volume aims to describe the need and opportunities for improving maternal health through multi-sector collaborations. It highlights examples of effective cross-sector partnerships that are making real improvements in health outcomes for maternal health populations and offers practical tools and strategies for practitioners working in this space.

The Practical Playbook III brings together voices of experience and authority to answer the most challenging questions in maternal health and provide concrete steps for maternal stakeholders to improve maternal health outcomes.

View an open-access version of the book.
Table of contents
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  • Examples of multidisciplinary partnerships that leverage new ideas and resources, including innovative approaches to gathering and using data
  • Policies and practices that are improving the health and well-being of birthing people and children across the country
  • Strategies for scaling up and sustaining successful coalitions and programs
  • Existing or promising tools and strategies to improve maternal health in the future
  • Dorothy Cilenti, Clinical Professor of Maternal and Child Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
  • Alisahah Jackson, CEO, Why Health Matters
  • Natalie D. Hernandez, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Lindsey Yates, Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Maternal and Child Health
  • J. Lloyd Michener, Professor Emeritus of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Sarah Verbiest, Clinical Professor, UNC School of Social Work
  • Brian C. Castrucci, CEO, de Beaumont Foundation
  • Sonya Young Aadam, CEO, California Black Womenâs Health Project
  • Tanisa Foxworth Adimu, RMOMS HRSA Grant Coach, Georgia Health Policy Center/Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center
  • Sanaa Akbarali, Senior Director, Maternal and Infant Health, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Leigh Alderman, Assistant Project Director, Georgia Health Policy Center, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University
  • Christie Allen, Senior Director, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Deborah Allen, Deputy Director for Health Promotion, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
  • Mary Beth Allen, Health Policy Specialist, Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative
  • Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Associate Professor, Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine; Director and Founder of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice
  • Rakiah Anderson, Evaluation Manager, Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Lauri Andress, Associate Dean, College of Population Health, University of New Mexico; Principal, Andress & Associates, Bridging the Health Gap Consultants, LLC
  • Anuradhika Anuradhika, System Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Ventures, CommonSpirit Health
  • Maria Mercedes Ãvila, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine
  • Deborah Backman, Maternal and Infant Health Senior Analyst, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Monica Beltran, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
  • Kathy K. Best, Public Health Analyst, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services
  • Burcu Bozkurt, Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Zachary A. Brian, Clinical Associate Professor, Director, Dentistry in Service to Community (DISC), Division of Pediatric and Public Health, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Christine Brocato, System Vice President Strategy Innovation, CommonSpirit Health
  • Kimberley Broomfield-Massey, Principal Research and Evaluation Consultant, Urban Metrics Consultants, LLC
  • Haywood Brown, Senior Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for University of South Florida Health and the Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs for the Morsani, College of Medicine
  • Rebecca Burger, System Care Coordinator, RMOMS HRSA Grant, Bootheel Perinatal Network
  • Clara Busse, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Ruth S. Buzi, Consultant (formerly Associate Professor and Director of Social Services, Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinic)
  • Ahmed V. Calvo, Director of National Leadership Fellowship on Health Policy and Public Service, Stanford University Haas Center for Public Service
  • Marijane Carey, Consultant, Carey Consulting
  • Keri Carvalho, Tufts University
  • Britta Cedergren, Program Director, The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health
  • Nkechi U. Charles, Gillings School of Global Public Health
  • Olufunmilayo Makinde Chinekezi, Program Officer, National Academy of Medicine
  • Heidi Christensen, Maternal Health Innovation Program Manager, Bureau of Womenâs & Childrenâs Health, Arizona Department of Health Services
  • Karen Chustz, Senior Program Manager, National Healthy Start Association
  • Dorothy Cilenti, Clinical Professor, Director, National MCH Workforce Development Center; Director, Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Aja Clark, Senior Birth Equity Evaluation Analyst, National Birth Equity Collaborative
  • Monica Clouse, Program Manager, Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative
  • Andreea A. Creanga, Associate Professor, Department of International Health & Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Director, Maryland Maternal Health Innovation Program, Associate Director, International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health, Johns Hopkins University
  • Athena Cross, Chief Program Officer, AIDS United
  • Kiara Cruz, Senior Research Analyst, National Birth Equity Collaborative
  • Wendy Davis, Executive Director, Postpartum Support International
  • Brisa Urquieta de Hernandez, System Director Operations, Lloyd H. Dean Institute for Humankindness & Health Justice, CommonSpirit Health
  • Leslie deRosset, Research Investigator, Implementation Specialist, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Brandi Sims Desjolais, Director, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Black Maternal Health Center of Excellence
  • Twylla Dillion, Executive Director, HealthConnect One
  • Jemea Dorsey, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Black, Womenâs Wellness
  • Ramya Dronamraju, Director of Maternal and Infant Health, Association of State and Territorial, Health Officials
  • Amanda Roccabruna Eby, Program Specialist Family and Community Health Bureau, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
  • Karl Ensign, Vice President for Island Support, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Stephanie Fitch, MOMS Grant Manager, Billings Clinic
  • Jill M. Forcina, Director of Education & Nursing, North Carolina Area Health Education Center
  • Melissa Franklin, CEO of Growth Mindset Communications
  • Deborah Frazier, CEO, National Healthy Start Association
  • Jamie Freeny, Director, Center for School Behavioral Health, Mental Health America of Greater Houston
  • Valerie Newsome Garcia, Community Transformation Strategist, National Healthy Start Association, Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Community Care Initiative
  • Amelia N. Gibson, Associate Professor, University of Maryland College of Information Studies
  • Anne Elizabeth Glassgow, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago; Executive Director, Illinois Maternal Health Innovation Program (I PROMOTE-IL); Medical Director, UI Health Two-Generation Clinic
  • Barbara Gleason, Project Director RMOMS HRSA Grant, Bootheel Perinatal Network
  • June Hanke, (formerly) Strategic Analyst, Harris Health System
  • Piia Hanson, President and Principal Consultant, Ph Solutions, LLC
  • Kimberly D. Harper, Perinatal/Neonatal Outreach Coordinator, Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health, OBGYN-Division of Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Lisa Macon Harrison, Local Health Director, Granville Vance Public Health
  • Crystal Hayes, Clinical Assistant Professor, Sacred Heart University
  • Emily Heberlein, Assistant Project Director, Georgia Health Policy Center, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University
  • Japera Hemming, Assistant Project Director, Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State University
  • Natalie D. Hernandez, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Executive Director, Center for Maternal Health Equity, Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Anita Isama, Resident Physician, Family and Community Medicine, Cook County Health; GE-NMF Primary Care Leadership Program Scholar
  • Alisahah Jackson, President, Lloyd H. Dean Institute for Humankindness & Health Justice
  • Alayah Johnson-Jennings
  • Tamaron A. Johnson, Administrative Assistant, Morehouse School of Medicine, Center for Maternal Health Equity
  • Crista E. Johnson-Agbakwu, Executive Director, Collaborative in Health Equity, Office of Health Equity; Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, UMass Memorial Health; Professor, Population & Quantitative Health Sciences Division, Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan Medical School
  • Adjoa Jones, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
  • Susan Kendig, Womenâs Health Integration Specialist, SSM Health Maternal Services
  • Abigail Kenney, Nurse Practitioner
  • Anna Kheyfets, Medical Student, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Monica Figueroa King, CEO, Broward Healthy Start Coalition
  • Sowmya Kuruganti, Public Health Analyst, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Lynn Lane, Tribal Maternal Health Innovation Program Manager, Bureau of Womenâs & Childrenâs Health, Arizona Department of Health Services
  • Daniel Lanford, Senior Research Associate, Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State University
  • Manoja Ratnayake Lecamwasam, System Vice President, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences Innovation, CommonSpirit Health
  • Sandra J. Lloyd, (formerly) Public Health Analyst, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Mark Loafman, System Chair, Family and Community Medicine, Cook County Health
  • Christine Mackie, Vice President, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Inas-Khalidah Mahdi, Vice President of Equity-Centered Capacity Building, Director of Training, Praxis and Evaluation, National Birth Equity Collaborative
  • Joyce Marshall, Director, Maternal & Child Health Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health
  • Deidre McDaniel, Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Community Care Initiative Clinical-Community Bundle Integration Specialist; President & Founder, Health Equity Resources & Strategies
  • Daphne McGee, Public Health Attorney
  • M. Kathryn Menard, Distinguished Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine
  • J. Lloyd Michener, Professor Emeritus, Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, Duke School of Medicine; Adjunct Professor, Public Health Leadership, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
  • Karen Minyard, Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State University
  • Elizabeth A. Mosley, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Affiliated Faculty, Emory University Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE)
  • Amy J. Mullenix, Deputy Director, Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, National MCH Workforce Development Center, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Jordan Murphy, Epidemiologist, Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative
  • Halle Neeley,Development Director, Reaching our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE)
  • Morgan Nesselrodt, Project Coordinator, RMOMS HRSA Grant, Bootheel Perinatal Network
  • Jill Nobles-Botkin, Administrative Program Manager, Maternal and Child Health Service, Perinatal & Reproductive Health Division, Oklahoma State Department of Health
  • Helen O'Connor, Health Program Analyst, Division of Maternal, Child, & Adolescent Health, Health Promotion Bureau, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
  • Michele Okoh, Assistant Professor, Lewis & Clark Law School
  • Erica OâNeill, Academic Lead in Medical Education, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cook County Health; Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Reena Oza-Frank, Data and Surveillance Administrator, Bureau of Maternal, Child and Family Health, Ohio Department of Health
  • Aunchalee Palmquist, Assistant Professor, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Heather Pangelinan, Director, Public Health Services, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
  • Christopher Parker, Director, Population and Global Health/Assistant Research Professor, Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State University
  • Kaci Patterson, Senior Director, Los Angeles Partnership for Early Childhood Investment; Founder, Social Good Solutions
  • Katrin Patterson, Program Manager, Indigenous Health, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Erin Patton, Public Health Analyst, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services
  • Belinda Pettiford, Chief, Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
  • Marisa Pizii, Deputy Director of Programs and Policy, Collective Power for Reproductive Justice
  • Marie V. Plaisime, Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Penn Program on Race, Science & Society Center for Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania
  • Ellen Pliska, Senior Director, Family and Child Health, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Chris Raines, CEO/founder, Chris Raines Consulting PC; Board Chair Emeritus, Postpartum Support International; Adjunct Professor, University of North Carolina Women's Mood Disorder Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Sharetta Remikie, Chief Equity and Community Engagement Officer, Childrenâs Services Council of Broward County
  • Timothy L. Ricks
  • Marci Ronik, University of South Florida; M2M Counseling, Coaching, and Consulting, LLC
  • Maria Gabriela Ruiz, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Rebecca Severin, Maternal Health Innovation Program Supervisor, Maternal Health Innovation Program, Maternal Health Branch, Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section, Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
  • Kimberly Sherman, Branch Chief for Maternal & Womenâs Health, Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Tara Owens Shuler, Branch Head, Maternal Health Branch, Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section; Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (formerly Director of Operations and Diversity, North Carolina Area Health Education Center)
  • Pam Silberman, Professor of the Practice Emerita, Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Dana G. Smith, Independent writer
  • Jessica C. Smith, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Georgia
  • Angela Snyder, Research Associate Professor, Georgia Health Policy Center, Georgia State University
  • Lyndsey Stadtmueller, Family Medicine Faculty Physician, Family Health Center of Worcester
  • Candace Stewart, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Alison M. Stuebe, Professor, School of Medicine and Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Zainab Sulaiman, VP of Impact & Advocacy, HealthConnect One
  • Saanie Sulley, Data Manager, National Healthy Start Association
  • Kristin Sullivan, Director, Public Health Systems Improvement and Infrastructure, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Karey M. Sutton, Scientific Director, Health Equity Research, MedStar Health Research Institute
  • Sylvia Swilley, Association of Black Women Physicians
  • Yhenneko J. Taylor, Assistant Vice President, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Atrium Health
  • Stephanie S. Teleki, Director, Learning & Impact, California Health Care Foundation
  • Kenya Thomas-Allen, Fellow, Preventive Medicine, Cook County Health
  • Calondra Tibbs, CEO and Principal Consultant, Trifecta Advising, LLC
  • Hugh H. Tilson, Jr., Director, North Carolina Area Health Education Center
  • Melissa Touma, Senior Analyst, Public Health Systems and Improvement, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Christine Tucker, Evaluator, Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Kristin P. Tully, Research Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Amy Ushry, Senior Nurse Special Project Manager, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Shannon Vance, Family and Child Health Senior Analyst, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Christine M. Velez, Assistant Professor in Social Work at the University of Vermont
  • Sarah Verbiest, Clinical Professor and Executive Director, School of Medicine and School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Catherine J. Vladutiu, Senior Epidemiologist, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services
  • Keegan D. Warren, Executive Director, Institute on for Healthcare Access, Texas A&M University
  • Michael D. Warren, Associate Administrator, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services
  • Jonathan Webb, CEO Association for Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
  • Kaprice Welsh, Certified Nurse Midwife
  • Phoebe Wescott, Senior Birth Equity Analyst, National Birth Equity Collaborative
  • Alex Wheatley, Senior Analyst, Island Support, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Connie White, Medical Advisor, Kentucky Perinatal Quality Collaborative
  • Ashley Wilkes, Supervisory Public Health Analyst, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services
  • Ronea Wilson, Assistant Professor, University of South Florida College of Public Health
  • Julie K. Wood, Senior Vice President, Research, Science, and Health of the Public, American Academy of Family Physicians
  • Suzanne Woodward, Communications Director, University of North Carolina Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health
  • Lindsey Yates, Postdoctoral Trainee, Center of Excellence, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Adam J. Zolotor, Associate Director for Medical Education, North Carolina Area Health Education Center

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What people are saying about
The Practical Playbook III: Working Together to Improve Maternal Health

Jennifer Tang, Associate Professor, UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

What I love about this book is that it is so practical and collaborative. It recognizes that any solution to our maternal health crisis needs to understand its history and include the voices and communities most affected by it.

Jennifer Tang, Associate Professor, UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Shameka Poetry Thomas, Global Maternal-Child Health Scholar and Medical Sociologist; Editor, Springer's Maternal and Child Health Journal; Research Faculty, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

In the United States, the truth is we know that maternal health is in a state of emergency. Now more than ever, we need genuine resources, such as this book, that can serve as game plans for reproductive justice. If we fail to read and cite books like this with grace and intention, then we will continue to run the risk of failing the next generation of humanity.

Shameka Poetry Thomas, Global Maternal-Child Health Scholar and Medical Sociologist; Editor, Springer's Maternal and Child Health Journal; Research Faculty, The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Stella Safo, Founder and CEO, Just Equity for Health

This Playbook delivers a vital message: The maternal health crisis in the United States requires innovative and decisive action, now. Rather than simply identifying and characterizing the issue, the Playbook provides equity-grounded solutions and guidance from multiple perspectives. This book is much needed and could help us right the horrific reality that is the current maternal health crisis in America.

Stella Safo, Founder and CEO, Just Equity for Health

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