Southern Center for Maternal Health (SCMH)

Advancing maternal health equity across the Gulf South

Funded by the NIH IMPROVE Initiative

Funder
NIH IMPROVE Initiative

Timeline
August 2023 — August 2030

Woven's Role
Community Principal Investigator

Primary Partners
Tulane University, Ochsner Health

Additional Partners
Dillard University, University of Mississippi Medical Center

at a glance

About This Work:

Pregnancy and birth should be safe for every family — but across the Gulf South, that is far from the reality. The South accounts for 40% of U.S. maternal deaths despite only one-third of births, and Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Most of these deaths are preventable.

The Southern Center for Maternal Health (SCMH) was established to change that. As part of the NIH-funded IMPROVE Initiative, the center brings together research, community knowledge, and clinical expertise to find real, lasting solutions to the maternal health crisis across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The center’s work is built on a simple but powerful premise: communities are the experts on their own health, and any solution that doesn’t center that expertise will fall short.

Woven serves as the Community Principal Investigator — one of three co-leading organizations driving this work. Tulane University brings technical expertise in reproductive and social epidemiology, translational research, and health policy and economics. Ochsner Health contributes clinical and outcomes research expertise and a community-rooted network of clinical care. Woven anchors the center’s commitment to community leadership, ensuring that Black birthing people and the organizations that serve them are not just participants in this research, they are shaping it.

The Work:

  • Research Project 1 — Patient-Centered Maternity Care

    This project brings together provider training, hospital support, and community partnerships to improve care and outcomes for birthing people across Louisiana. It tests whether a coordinated, community-connected approach can reduce the harm caused by provider bias and inconsistent care practices.

    • Interactive, empathy-driven online training for providers on patient-centered maternity care

    • Quality improvement support to embed evidence-based communication and care practices in hospitals

    • Community partnerships that connect hospitals with local organizations to extend care beyond birth

    • Measures impact on hospital outcomes, patient satisfaction, and provider decision-making

  • Research Project 2 — Digital Health & Maternity Care Access

    This project tests strategies to strengthen and expand Ochsner's Connected MOM program in Northern Louisiana — a remote monitoring initiative that uses digital tools, including a wireless blood pressure cuff, to help expecting mothers track their health at home and share readings securely with their care team. It focuses specifically on communities living in maternity care deserts, where access to in-person care is severely limited.

    • Enhanced remote care through personalized support and culturally responsive communication

    • Community collaboration with local clinics and leaders to ensure the program reflects real community needs

    • Data and design improvements driven by patient feedback to reduce technical barriers

    • Tests whether an enhanced Connected MOM improves maternal health outcomes and patient satisfaction

  • Research Project 3 — Medicaid Policy Evaluation

    This project examines how Medicaid postpartum extensions and postpartum depression (PPD) screening mandates are being adopted and implemented across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi — and what impact those policy decisions are having on families. By pairing policy data with community voices, it aims to ensure new maternal health policies deliver meaningful, equitable results.

    • Examines how postpartum care extensions and screening mandates impact diabetes, hypertension, and PPD outcomes using health records and claims data

    • Builds economic models to assess the cost-effectiveness of these policies

    • Gathers perspectives from patients, providers, and administrators through interviews to understand how policies shape everyday care

    • Investigates why states differ in adopting Medicaid postpartum extensions and PPD screening requirements

Community Partner Core

The Community Partner Core brings community voices directly into the center's research through a Community Advisory Board (CAB) and Community Action Committees (CACs). These bodies guide project design, share local priorities, and shape how research is carried out — ensuring the center's work stays accountable to the communities it serves. The CP Core also provides direct support to community organizations, including grant writing and data assistance.

  • Establishes equitable partnerships between Black-led community-based organizations, researchers, and healthcare providers

  • Creates a research training laboratory where community partners and researchers collaborate as co-contributors

  • Facilitates the translation and dissemination of findings back to communities and a wide range of stakeholders

Training Core

The Training Core builds the next generation of maternal health researchers by supporting early-career investigators from diverse backgrounds with the mentorship, skills, and hands-on experience they need to do rigorous, community-informed work.

  • Maternal Health Fellows: early-career researchers embedded in research projects with full mentorship and funding

  • Research Scholars: center-affiliated participants engaged in required training and development activities

  • Training Associates: open access to trainings and learning opportunities

  • Training methods include mentorship networks, professional seminars, hands-on research involvement, and individual career development planning

  • Community mentors guide training, and findings are returned to communities through presentations and public-facing outreach

Outputs, Resources & Links

Deliverables

Partners


Primary Partners
Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Ochsner Health, Ochsner Health System

Additional Partners
Dillard University, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Community Advisory Board
Blooming Moon Midwifery Services, Vibrant Minds Therapy & Counseling, Xavier University, Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies, Women's Foundation of the South

Community Action Committees
Birthmark Doula Collective, Monroe Housing Authority, Six Dimensions, Care Pregnancy Center, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport-Monroe Medical Center, Arkansas Birthing Project, Maternal Beats LLC, Happy Healthy Pregnancy LLC, Golden Aura Wellness, New Orleans Maternal and Child Health Coalition, Jenkins Counseling Services