05
05 – 07
’23
OMAHA, NE
DELIVERY
The Total Package: Back pain, infection, insomnia, + a lifetime of happiness.
Welcome! Every pregnancy is different in its treatment of mother and child both during and after the due date. There’s no reason for these differences to extend beyond the uterus and into how physicians care and workplaces support. In this weekend-long conference, delve into how and why these disparities in quality of care occur and how change can deliver a better pregnancy and motherhood experience to people with uteruses.
NORMAL PREGNANCY IS NOT NORMAL
Lode Dewulf
05
05
’23
4 PM
Lode Wolf is a physician with a passion for patient perspectives and understanding. He has a background of medicine practice in Belgium and South Africa, which cemented his belief in the equal importance of quality education to medicine. Lode has experience in pharmaceuticals and cofounded the first healthcare internet portal in Europe, also working in senior global roles. Above all, he advocates for a true understanding of the patient experience. @LodeDewulf
HOW WE CAN IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTHCARE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY
Elizabeth Howell is a physician, researcher and advocate committed to improving the health and well-being of women. She is an expert in quality-of-care and racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and child health. Her research focuses on the intersection between quality-of-care and disparities in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, as well as postpartum depression and its impact on underserved communities. Elizabeth is a founding Director of the Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute at Mount Sinai, where she is working to advance the science of women’s health.
05
@LizHowellMD
Elizabeth Howell
05
’23
5 PM
HOW THE US MEDICAL COMMUNITY FAILS BLACK MOTHERS
05
06
’23
1 PM
Wanda Irving developed a passion for leading community betterment and social change initiatives, with decades of experience working for government and non-profits to create resourceful solutions to complex community issues through effective leadership development. After the untimely death of her daughter, Shalon, following the birth of her own daughter, Wanda devoted her life’s work to bringing attention to health equity and racial equality. She is currently developing a nonprofit to honor her daughter’s work while raising her two-year-old granddaughter, Soleil. @WandaIrving
Wanda Irving
HOW RACISM HARMS PREGNANT WOMEN — AND WHAT CAN HELP
Miriam Zoila-Pérez Miriam Zoila Pérez began her career as a doula, work that led her to explore the complex ways that identity shapes health, especially for people of color, LGBT folks and women. As a gender columnist, Pérez has illuminated these topics for various publications using her perspective as a CubanAmerican woman. For ten years Pérez has run Radical Doula, a blog that explores the political aspects of doula work. She’s the author of The Radical Doula Guide, a political primer that has influenced a generation of activist doulas. @MiriamZPerez
05
06
’23
2 PM
A SIMPLE BIRTH KIT FOR MOTHERS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
05
Zubaida Bai
06
’23
3 PM
Zubaida Dai uses her background in mechanical engineering—with an MBA in social and sustainable enterprises—and social work to create change in the world of women’s health. Dai is the founder and CEO of Ayzh, a social enterprise based in India that designs vital healthcare products to improve the reproductive health of women. She has been selected as a Young Global Leader, Maternal Health Champion and United Nations SDG Pioneer by several major organizations. @ZubaidaBai
“We have to start by bringing simplicity and dignity to women’s health issues: from reducing maternal mortality, to breaking taboos, to empowering women to take control of their own lives.” —Zubaida Bai
A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT THE TRANSITION TO MOTHERHOOD
05
07
’23
1 PM
Alexandra Sacks has spent the last decade of her career helping women navigate their emotional lives as a reproductive psychiatrist. She is a regular contributor to the New York Times, and her work has been featured in TIME, NPR and throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America. Boardcertified in psychiatry with specialty fellowship training in women’s mental health, Alexandra has a private practice in New York City and serves on several advisory boards. Her first book, What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood, was published in 2019. @Alexandra_Sacks
Alexandra Sacks
A MESSAGE FOR WOMEN: TAKING BACK YOUR PREGNANCY RIGHTS
Renee Coover Renee Coover practices employment law and has extensive experience representing businesses and individuals in employment discrimination, harassment, and breach of contract matters and counseling businesses on employment matters and polices. Renee regularly handles employment matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights. In addition, she serves as Associate General Counsel for the American Medical Spa Association and regularly lectures. @ReneeCoover
05
07
’23
2 PM
“Not one more working family should be told that the collision of their work, their needed work and their needed parenthood, is their problem alone. We have to stop framing this as a mother’s issue, or even a women’s issue. This is an American issue.” —Jessica Shortall
THE US NEEDS PAID FAMILY LEAVE —FOR THE SAKE OF ITS FUTURE
Jessica Shortall has focused her career on challenges that need sustainable solutions and require a deep understanding of market forces, audiences, and cultures. Jessica has provided strategy consulting to dozens of businesses, social enterprises, non-profit organizations and campaigns. Her first book, Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Mom’s Guide to Surviving Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work, was inspired by her own experiences of circumnavigating the globe with a breast pump. Jessica has experience with the Peace Corps and other non-profits. @JessicaShortall
Jessica Shortall
05
07
’23
4 PM
Notes
D Fri.
Sat.
Sun.
2:00 3:30 4:00 5:00 6:00
Check In Welcome Lode Dewulf Elizabeth Howell Mocktail Hour
1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00
Wanda Irving Miriam Zoila-Pérez Zubaida Bai Q+A with Zubaida Bai Mocktail Hour
1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00
Alexandra Sacks Renee Coover Pastries + Decaf Jessica Shortall Meet + Greet