A Global Reimagining of Collaboration in Maternal Health
Join Anew and World Connect for an intimate roundtable on birth equity and collaboration in maternal health with OB‑GYNs, midwives, doulas, and global innovators in conversation across the Bronx, the U.S., and Nigeria. Together we’ll explore how traditional and community‑based care can work alongside medical systems to improve outcomes, reduce maternal mortality, and expand access to respectful, culturally rooted care.
Midwives, OB/GYNs, and doulas often work in parallel; sometimes sharing patients, always sharing goals, but not often sharing the same table. This can result in fragmented care and outcomes that fall short of what's possible when providers work collaboratively.
We're bringing together practitioners, innovators, and advocates for an open conversation about the state and future of maternal health. We’ll hear from several leaders testing novel approaches and have an honest exchange about the systemic challenges that shape care today, innovative training approaches reshaping how care teams work together, and what the future could look like.
Dr. Abosede Lewu (MBBS, FMCOG, MPA, FWACOG) is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, social entrepreneur and community health advocate with over 15 years of experience improving the health and wellbeing of girls, women and young people in underserved communities. She is the Founder of GirlsAide Initiative, a nonprofit improving access to healthcare, health information and opportunities for girls, women and young people. Her flagship programme, KAMA Care, works to reduce maternal and newborn deaths by strengthening the capacity of community birth attendants and connecting them, and the women they serve, to the formal healthcare system. A Fellow of both the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Surgeons, she holds a Master's in Public Administration and is an alumna of the Acumen and Mandela Washington Fellowships.
Emilie Rodriguez is a Black traditional birth and postpartum doula and medical anthropologist. She founded Ashe Birthing Services, a team of BIPOC doulas serving over 400 families a year in NYC, and co-founded The Bridge Directory, a platform of perinatal providers and professionals of color creating a new standard of maternal health. They are on a mission to heal the disparities in healthcare from within by training institutions and providers, redefining expectations in care, and closing the access gap. As an active Bronxite and reproductive justice advocate, Emilie is deeply passionate about her community and Black maternal health.The Bridge engages in many strategic partnerships, but one to highlight is with Columbia University to create a Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence as part of a seven-year NIH grant, focusing on scalable multi-level strategies grounded in anti-racism and patient empowerment. As a principal investigator, Emilie oversees all aspects and components of the grant’s projects. Emilie is also a leading expert in policy-level change, particularly in advocating for doula pay-equity and the development of accessible doula qualifications and standardization, as doulas begin to accept insurance in New York City and New York State.
Myla Flores is on a mission to improve maternal care in NYC. A visionary leader in the birth field, she builds community programs where people can access safe, informed reproductive care pre-, during, and post-pregnancy. She co-leads Maryam Reproductive Health + Wellness and Womb Bus mobile wellness hub, bringing education and resources to blossoming families while building awareness for The Birthing Place, a future Bronx birth center offering midwifery-integrated collaborative care. Myla is a doula and CNN Champion for Change with decades in community advancing gentle birth, breastfeeding, and reproductive justice in The Bronx and Upper Manhattan. She executive directs The Birthing Place Foundation, which emerged to support Conscious Birth Collective's BIPOC doula training and mentorship, along with many programs which altogether uplift access to midwifery and birth center care. Myla deeply trusts community-led solutions to transform health for future generations.
World Connect co-invests directly with communities to activate locally-led solutions that quickly advance health, education, and economic opportunity. This co-investment model shifts leadership and power to communities, creating a more effective, high-impact, and sustainable way to address urgent inequities worldwide.
The Birthing Place empowers and engages communities through outreach, advocacy and access to culturally responsive reproductive care. Their initiatives expand New York's midwifery and birthing options — including opening a birth center.
Anew is a gathering space and discovery center for the social impact community.