Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University

The Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ) was developed as an extension of the MOTHER Lab, founded, and directed by Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Ph.D., MPH, CHES, the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health and Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine in the School of Medicine. The vision and rationale of the CBMHRJ are to protect the Black birthing experience by advocating for quality, equitable, and respectful care in childbirth. The center seeks to create a world where Black women can safely, efficiently, and comfortably receive equitable access to healthcare services without having to navigate through racism and/or discrimination in medical settings. The CBMHRJ envisions that the interdisciplinary research center will be integrated with faculty from all Tufts schools. The mission of the CBMHRJ is to foster academic and community-engaged research in support of the center’s goals to conduct maternal health research with a focus on Black maternal health and eliminating inequities. The center's main goal is to foster maternal health research at Tufts University School of Medicine, with a particular focus on improving the health of Black birthing persons and their babies by reducing maternal health disparities. The organizational structure of CBMHRJ will be broken down into five units led by internal faculty members acting as Unit Leads at Tufts University. Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha will serve as the founding director of the CBMHRJ. Please view a description of each of the units below.