As a passionate OB-GYN clinician and advocate, Dr. Jasmine Johnson is on the frontlines of the battle to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women across the United States.
Combating Systemic Barriers and Inequities in Maternal Care
Black women face staggering disparities in maternal healthcare, with mortality rates three times higher than their white counterparts. These inequities stem from deep-rooted systemic barriers and medical biases within the healthcare system.
“The disparities in maternal healthcare for Black mothers across the U.S. are striking,” Dr. Johnson explains. “They also face higher rates of complications like hypertension, preeclampsia, and hemorrhage, and are more likely to undergo cesarean sections, with rates reaching 36% even among low-risk pregnancies.”
Leveraging the Black Maternal Health ECHO Initiative
To address these critical issues, Dr. Johnson co-founded the Black Maternal Health ECHO (BMH) program at the Indiana University Indianapolis ECHO Center. This collaborative network brings together a diverse group of practitioners, including physicians, nurses, doulas, and midwives, dedicated to improving maternal health outcomes for Black women.
“During our weekly virtual ECHO sessions, program participants and community providers collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of specialists to tackle critical issues related to the disparities faced by Black women,” Dr. Johnson explains. “The primary goal is to leverage collective knowledge, share recent patient outcomes, and develop actionable strategies to enhance Black maternal health on both local and national scales.”
Empowering Black Women and Advocating for Reproductive Justice
As the maternal healthcare landscape becomes increasingly complex, with the imposition of abortion bans and other harmful legislation, Dr. Johnson’s work is more vital than ever. She is committed to empowering Black women and ensuring they are aware of their rights as they approach delivery.
“Being able to support people through those pregnancies is one of the things I’m most proud of in my job,” Dr. Johnson says. “My work today is a mix of taking care of people and making sure that they have the best pregnancy experience they can, even when they have challenging experiences, but also using the research to advocate and call out racism in these outcomes that we’re all talking about.”
Driving Change Through Research and Collaboration
Dr. Johnson’s research has been instrumental in highlighting the role of systemic racism in contributing to disparities in maternal health outcomes. Her studies have debunked the notion that these inequities are solely driven by factors like insurance coverage or access to prenatal care.
“When we control for factors that can create a bad outcome, like not having insurance or not going to prenatal care, the last thing we’re left with – if there’s still a difference by race and ethnicity – is that there’s racism,” Dr. Johnson explains. “The experiences that people have during their pregnancies, and even before, that set them up for these bad outcomes.”
Through her groundbreaking work with the Black Maternal Health ECHO initiative, Dr. Jasmine Johnson is at the forefront of the fight to ensure that all Black women have safe and healthy childbirth experiences, regardless of their circumstances.
