Climate & Perinatal Health Equity
Black and Indigenous pregnant parents experience the highest combined risk, compounding the injustices in both climate exposure and perinatal health
Perinatal Health = Planetary Health
Rising Temperatures and Air Pollution Increase Risk for...
Preterm Birth
Risk of preterm birth increases with each grade of temperature increase or with longer duration of heat exposure
Low Birth Weight
Ozone exposure was associated with low birth weight in 86% of the studies documented by a 2020 systematic review
Stillbirth
A 2020 meta analysis documented that temperature predicted increased risk of stillbirth in 100% of the studies
It is clear that the climate crisis must be addressed from the lens of perinatal health equity
Research
Participate in research to help us understand the perinatal health factors that increase climate resilience.
Education
Learn how to support climate resilience in your community with training opportunities for perinatal health professionals
Action
Speak up about the urgency of the climate x perinatal intersection. Join our EnviroNatal Equity campaign for downloadable talking points and shareables.
2024 Presenters - EnviroNatal Equity Symposium
Vanessa Simmons
Vanessa A. Simmons is a first-generation Ghanaian-American portrait photographer who activates her gift of vision through speaking and writing to transform the mindset of powerhouse advocates, teaching them to ambitiously pursue their dreams while simultaneously prioritizing joy and rest as they serve their family and community.
Skye Wheeler
Skye works in the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, an international organization that exposes human rights violations all over the world. She has been working as part of a growing and vibrant community of people looking for deep change in how governments regulate pollution and ensure the right to a healthy environment, including for pregnant people especially at risk from toxics, climate change and other growing environmental crises.
Meghan Elizabeth Kallman
Meghan Elizabeth Kallman is a professor, organizer, and a State Senator, representing Rhode Island District 15. Josephine Ferorelli is a writer, illustrator, and yoga instructor who lives in Chicago, Illinois. Together, they are co-founders and co-directors of Conceivable Future, and coauthors of a new book by the same name.
Malaika Ludman
Malaika Ludman is a birth doula and certified lactation counselor who holds a master’s degree in public health. She is a Lactation Home Visitor and Program Coordinator for Birthmark Doula Collective’s Infant Ready program, which provides tools and information to promote perinatal emergency preparedness.
Lisa Heelan-Fancher
Dr. Lisa Heelan-Fancher is a board-certified family and adult nurse practitioner whose program of research seeks to improve childbirth outcomes. In collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines, her research focuses on decreasing the high number of unnecessary cesarean deliveries, advancing birth equity, and examining the impact of climate change and environmental stressors on maternal and infant health outcomes. She is the recipient of the American Nurses Association 2020 Excellence in Nursing Research award and the 2018 Pearl Rosendahl Teaching Excellence award.
Shamell Mary Lavigne
Shamell Lavigne, Chief Operating Officer for RISE St. James Louisiana, received her B.S. and Master’s degrees from Southern University and A&M College. She has over 20 years of experience in the HIV field, having worked as a Program Director of a local non-profit to administer several grant funded programs and later as the Executive Program Administrator for the City of Baton Rouge's Division of Human Development and Services and East Baton Rouge Parish Community Action Agency. Since 2018, Shamell has supported RISE St. James’ efforts by speaking at events, panel discussions and marching alongside her mother, Sharon Lavigne, 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner, and other Rise St. James members and partners.
Desiree Shantai Smith
Desiree has dedicated her career to promoting health and racial equity, particularly in sexual and reproductive health, across various settings including universities, state health departments, global healthcare agencies, and non-profits. She currently focuses on health equity research and evaluation for domestic and global impact, while also volunteering with advocacy organizations to support reproductive health rights, PIC abolition, and liberation for Black and Indigenous communities.
Antonia Juhasz
Antonia Juhasz is the Senior Researcher on Fossil Fuels in the Environment and Human Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. She is the author of the recent Human Rights Watch investigation, ""We're Dying Here:' The Fight for Life in a Louisiana Fossil Fuel Sacrifice Zone,"" which documents the severe health toll, including on maternal, reproductive, and newborn health, of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry in Louisiana's Cancer Alley. Juhasz is an award-winning investigative journalist and the author of three books, most recently, Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill. https://www.hrw.org/about/people/antonia-juhasz
Catherine Toms
Catherine Toms is a public health physician with experience designing programs aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality. She leads a new South Florida-based program called Green Cars for Kids which provides free transportation to non-emergency healthcare for low-income expectant mothers and kids using an all-electric fleet. Catherine is especially interested in the health impacts of extreme heat on vulnerable populations, including expectant mothers.
Chidimma Ozor Commer
Chidimma Ozor Commer, PhD, LMSW, is a social justice advocate, a mental health professional, small business owner, educator, researcher, and the former host of two podcasts. One of her research interests is on dismantling the white savior industrial complex and a second area is on the relationship between social workers who self-identitfy as advocates and/or activists and their self care practices. As a US born Nigerian and Black mother she personally understands the implications of Black maternal health disparities in the US. Dr Ozor Commer sits on several boards including serving as the Nurturely Board President. During her "off" time when she is not thinking about how to better serve humanity, she enjoys using the Peloton platform, reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.
Josephine Ferorelli
Josephine Ferorelli is a writer, illustrator, and yoga instructor who lives in Chicago, Illinois.
More Presenters Coming Soon
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