June 2024

Men's Health Awareness Month and LGBTQ Pride Month

This month, we celebrate the rich diversity and strengths of our communities. For LGBTQ Pride Month, we honor the trailblazers who fought for equality and acceptance, particularly the Black women and activists who led the way like Marsha P. Johnson. And we commemorate Juneteenth, a recognition that we are not free until we are all free, reaffirming our commitment to liberation for all.

Let's unite in pride, fatherhood, and freedom this month—and every month. Our intersecting identities and shared struggles make us stronger together.

It's not too late to join our Hackathon

Next Thursday and Friday (June 13 -14), join PTBi and Twilio for a two-day experience where tech and birth equity meet. Teams with developers to community members are welcome to participate to improve Black infant and maternal health outcomes through innovative solutions.

Learn more about the Hackathon and register.

The next Pregnancy Pop-Up Village is on Saturday

This month and every month, the Pop-Up Village welcomes families, pregnant people, and anyone interested to celebrate in community, engage in self-care, receive valuable resources and services, and more. Head to the Southeast Community Center this Saturday, June 8 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. for this month's pop-up.

Learn More

Seeking Black parents and caregivers

The Center and Care study hopes to interview 20 Black caregivers who have had preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the Bay area in order to gain family perspectives about how the medical system and our society can best support the long-term health of Black preterm infants. The study team is in need of just 7 more participants.

Learn More

Congratulations to PTBi Fellow, Kayla Karvonen, MD!

We celebrated Kayla's fellowship completion. Kayla was also is a clinical fellow in the Division of Neonatology at UCSF. Her research to date has focused on investigating racial and ethnic disparities in delivery of neonatal care and neonatal outcomes. She will be continuing at UCSF with a full-time position.

CA Clinician Focus Groups: Assessing Birth Equity Quality Improvement Readiness

The California Coalition for Black Birth Justice is facilitating a series of focus groups this month to identify the needs and capacities of clinicians and healthcare systems to engage in Black birth equity improvement efforts. They are looking for physicians, nurses, certified nurse midwives, and C-Suite and quality improvement staff to join these 75-minute focus groups. Participants will receive $75 for their time and engagement.

Recruiting Participants for Pregnancy and Anxiety Study

HOPE THRIVE is a research study focused on learning whether use of a specific type of therapy, called digital cognitive behavioral therapy (dCBT), delivered by an online application, can help pregnant people with moderate to severe anxiety feel better. The study team is seeking California MediCal participants who are between 8-27 weeks pregnant and are experiencing moderate to severe levels of anxiety. Participants will be asked to use an app to address anxiety at least once a week and complete five surveys. Participants can receive up to $400. If you are interested in participating or know someone who is, reach out to the study team at hope@ucsf.edu.

PTBi's Communications Team is hiring!

We are seeking a Writer and Communications Manager who is a passionate and creative storyteller that can develop and implement strategic communications across modalities and channels. In this role, the ideal candidate will also weave compelling narratives that empower communities and advance health equity and collaborating closely with a team of experts to shape the initiative's communication strategy and drive measurable impact.

Apply Today

Happy Father's Day! Voices for Birth Justice celebrates

the men who nurture and guide our families and communities

Shawn Riggins

Son, Father, and Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s Director of Local Conservations Corps

Shawn talks about losing his mother at a young age and the importance of fathers in children's lives.

Read his story

Dmitri Ezeuko

Resident Physician at UCSF Fresno

Dmitri shares an important message about addressing anti-Black racism as a physician and urges his fellow physicians to do better in the face of disparate outcomes for Black families in Fresno county.

Read his story