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[00:00:00] Nicole: today we're joining we're being joined by Briaa Baldwin, who's one of our patient family partners on the Power of MoMMAs Voices podcast.
[00:00:08] Nicole: And thank you Briaa for taking time outta your super busy schedule to meet and chat with us. I really appreciate you being here.
[00:00:15] Briaa: Of course Nicole. I love being able to meet with you and other people's of mama's voices, so I'm excited to be here today.
[00:00:22] Nicole: Awesome, thanks. So as I've been starting these podcasts, as we've been talking to different folks, we really wanted to have this opportunity in this season to have patience.
[00:00:33] Nicole: People with a lived experience get that chance to share their story to get out that message to other. Clinical teams and other providers so that they can really hear the heart of, of what we're working on and have this opportunity. So for you, if someone only listens to the first five minutes of this and they don't listen to the whole thing, what is something that you want them to take away from today?
[00:00:55] Briaa: That's a great question. Um, I think the first thing that I thought about [00:01:00] immediately is that every birth story deserves to be told and heard. That is the first thing. Um, you know, I have three live births. I've have, I have three beautiful girls. And for a long time I thought my story didn't matter because, um, essentially it didn't end with a loss, but it did end with a loss in a lot of different areas.
[00:01:22] Briaa: Not the loss of my children, thankfully, but in other areas. And I think the second biggest thing is as a patient and as a provider. And for the provider to listen to those questions and actually respond. I found it almost felt. Annoying for me to ask so many questions, but I realized that is the way that I learned how to advocate for myself because I just didn't know with my first, second, and third pregnancy, they were all very, very different.
[00:01:50] Briaa: And so for any patient hearing this, I want you to know that your story matters and that it's important for you to ask questions of your care team and for you to get a response that you [00:02:00] think is adequate. That was my like, mm-hmm. TED talk right there. My like
[00:02:04] Nicole: Get your TED Talk. I love that because I mean, even recently there was last week or the week before I was talking to someone and they're like, I just don't feel like I have like a story.
[00:02:15] Nicole: And it's one of the things that we've always really. I guess prided ourselves on is that everybody does have a story. Um, and because we do so much work with the healthcare providers and the clinical teams and the quality improvement teams, we know what they're looking for and we're able to help work with people to pull out what those key points are that are gonna make an impact and make a difference.
[00:02:36] Nicole: And so even people that are like yourself that are like, we went home, you know? Yeah. And, and sometimes that's the bar. Like, did everybody go home? Um. There's, there's so many different things. Yeah. The bar's not that high. Um, but there are so many other things that can happen to a pregnancy that need to be heard, and so I thank you for, for bringing [00:03:00] that up and making people that feel like we crossed that bar.
[00:03:04] Nicole: And so I don't have a place here. Feel like they are welcome and do have an opportunity and their voices are needed. Exactly. So we'll talk about your pregnancy journey. Well, we can talk about your pregnancy journey or your advocacy journey. Which one, I don't know which one you wanna go and start with, but you know, what is it that really got you into this space and being like, this is, this is a calling for me, and something that you have now really grown with your work.
[00:03:35] Briaa: Yeah, you know, I've been very fortunate. So I was introduced to Mama's Voices actually through my current position. So I started this role two years ago as a project manager. Um, they wanted to basically improve relationships between outpatient clinics and community banks, organizations, as well as launch the first ever statewide.
[00:03:56] Briaa: Patient and community action board. And I thought it was super cool for me to be [00:04:00] able to use my birthing experiences as a black woman to be able to share that and engage with other people and really create a safe space for us to have these discussions. Right. And before I got started, you guys were already connected with my supervisor and so I think I had a more of a non-traditional role, but I will say.
[00:04:17] Briaa: Once I was able to take the training with you guys, I feel like that's when my advocacy journey really started, right? Because before I'm thinking I have three healthy kids. Well, Healthyish kids, um, they're home. I'm, I'm here and alive. My story doesn't matter. And I went through that course and I was like, holy cow.
[00:04:35] Briaa: Like there's so many scars that we have from having children that are just not seen. And I feel like the first time I felt seen and heard and understood was when I took my training with you guys. And so that's when my advocacy journey truly started. Yes. And so, and I'm thankful, thankful for that.
[00:04:53] Briaa: Yeah. You know, with all of my pregnancies, they were considered high risk. I had hypertension, gestational [00:05:00] diabetes and with my last one, I almost bled out. Um, but again, I got to go home. So I was like, oh, you know, we're good. And I remember talking to you, um, Nicole, when I did my training and telling you that story, you guys were like, wait a minute.
[00:05:16] Briaa: That's actually pretty severe. And so I realized then that a lot of women have those hidden scars and how important it's for us to, to make space and give language to what that feels like and look like and support. And so that's kind of how I got started on my advocacy journey.
[00:05:35] Nicole: I think that, you know, there's something that to be said about being able to share your experience and understanding where their scars.
[00:05:42] Nicole: I was talking to somebody just yesterday who's been a public speaker for 40 years and she's like, I applaud you guys because there's no way I could talk about my health pregnancies 23 and 28 years later, even still, and this is what I do for a living is talk. [00:06:00] And so I pry, I really am proud of the advocate readiness section of our training because it's, it's necessary, it's needed and it really also is that place to like, oh, this is, this is heavy work and it's, it's gonna continue to be heavy work.
[00:06:17] Nicole: And so making sure that folks are prepared for that, it's just one of the pieces, like I'm constantly, I'm like, yes, we have that. We did that.
[00:06:24] Briaa: You guys have that tag. Yeah. And I'll say, I'm, so, I'm always so, um, supportive of you guys and, and just really in awe, you know, I mentioned we've been able to launch a patient and community action board and each of our PCA members.
[00:06:37] Briaa: Go through the Mama's Voices training, and for a lot of people, their kids are, I mean, some of them are like high schoolers are grown and they're like, I've never actually told my birth story. I've never sat with it. I've never shared it. And what I love again about the training, it teaches people how to be an advocate for their story in a lot of different [00:07:00] areas.
[00:07:00] Briaa: It helps us to write the story to, you know, practice it. To have somebody kind of walk through it with us and to be able to give up to our PCA members has been, I think one of the biggest, I guess job, not even job, but advocacy, fulfillment, because I felt the same way. And they're like, you, I didn't realize how much I needed this until I went through this course.
[00:07:19] Briaa: And so I just, I love that for any birth and people to go, and I, I'll plug this all the time, but the training really is for, I feel like every person who has went through a birthing experience.
[00:07:32] Nicole: Well, thank you. Thank you. That makes me proud to hear that from, you know, the, your position and, and what you're doing and what you're seeing and, and working with folks as we continue to, I don't know, share the good news, I guess one way to put it. Um, so now with your pregnancy experiences, you had three different pregnancies different kind of things happened.
[00:07:54] Nicole: What were some, if you, if you're okay with sharing some of what those. Now you [00:08:00] recognize those scars. Where are those things that could have been done differently to make your experience, to improve your experience?
[00:08:09] Briaa: Yeah, I think, oh, that's a great question. When I think back on all of my pregnancies, one of the things that I wish I would've known more, which is really I think being better educated on what.
[00:08:24] Briaa: The birthing experience was going to look like, right? So like we have a birthing plan, but what happens when things don't go to plan? Like, how is that gonna be communicated to me? I feel like because I was high risk in all of them, decisions were made very, very quickly without me being able to think, is that what I really want?
[00:08:42] Briaa: Do I wanna get induced for a third time? Knowing my last two inductions were horrible experiences. I also wish I knew more, especially in my first birth, um, birthing experience about doula support. You know, I think I would've benefited [00:09:00] tremendously because I was in active labor for two days. Um. My child was in vitro.
[00:09:06] Briaa: We knew that she only had one functioning kidney. We knew that the anatomy where her heart was abnormal, um, they thought she had down syndrome. But we ended up finding out about a week later, she had, she was diagnosed with something called De George Syndrome or 22 Q. So right now, uh, my baby is 10, but she sees about 19 different specialists, inpatient and outpatient.
[00:09:26] Briaa: So it's a lot. And so they were telling me this while I'm in labor, like she may have this. You know, this genetic disorder, I'm Googling it and I'm literally spiraling. 'cause if you read about the George, it's like worst come scenarios.
[00:09:40] Nicole: Um,
[00:09:41] Briaa: while you're in labor. While I'm, while you're in labor. While I'm in labor.
[00:09:44] Briaa: And it was really mentioned, it was so weird because I'm literally actively contracting. This is, this has to be day two, actively contracting. And a nurse mentioned it like, oh, I see the doctor thinks she has DeGeorge. And I was like, no, they've never mentioned that to us. [00:10:00] But my mom and I are literally both googling this.
[00:10:02] Briaa: And so now I'm like even more like uncomfortable and just freaking out. And so I truly wish I had a doula to be an advocate for me. And I'll say even in later pregnancies, I'd never end up having a doula. But I also wish I had that person to support me. Amongst my family and friends. You know, you're in active labor and there's a lot of different people, a lot of different opinions, and I love them, but it was very overwhelming.
[00:10:29] Briaa: And so outside of like the education, what my birth experience was gonna look like and how we were gonna communicate any differences of them, but having a support person just for Briaa, I think would've been really, really beneficial for me and I think for anybody in that space. Right.
[00:10:47] Nicole: Yeah. So, you know, one of the things we talk about, I wouldn't consider this necessarily like informed consent, but like educating patients properly and not talking [00:11:00] like over them.
[00:11:00] Nicole: So, oh, maybe it's not informed consent, like I'll say trauma informed.
[00:11:03] Briaa: Yeah, sorry.
[00:11:04] Nicole: Yes. Um, more trauma, trauma-informed of having these conversations before inert, just blurts it out.
[00:11:11] Nicole: Um,
[00:11:11] Nicole: oh, I see. This is in your chart and then you're in the middle of like, these conversations should have happened. I'm assuming you had some like genetic testing Yeah.
[00:11:21] Nicole: That happened, that rolled out the downs to get you to that point. Like they would've known about it much earlier than you're in the process, so that you could have done. Wrapped your head around it and mentally prepared yourself before then. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Wow. And
[00:11:35] Briaa: I think it goes back to some of the work we're trying to do now is really closing the communication gap between different providers.
[00:11:42] Briaa: Because I started out in one office, but because I was high risk, I had to go to a different office and a different hospital to be able to support me and my child, which I am super grateful for. But there was just so many gaps in communication. And as a, you know, first time mom. I didn't realize that. I'm just [00:12:00] thinking my doctor told me this is gonna happen.
[00:12:02] Briaa: This is what I need to prepare for. This is the plan, and I'm just listening to them as a patient too, just. Making sure we're being advocates for ourself, right? Like this is what we talk about, like making sure we're comfortable asking those questions and if we feel like we're not getting those support people in house in seat that we feel comfortable with.
[00:12:22] Briaa: Right? And that may mean we need to shop around a little bit, but I think it's so important. Mm-hmm. Looking back on, back on my big pregnancies, I wish I would've had that person that's like, no worry, Briaa, I got it right. Because as a mother, we're thinking about our baby and everybody else, but we're not thinking about ourselves a lot of times.
[00:12:38] Nicole: So knowing, like being deep, deep in this space. Yeah. Now, okay. Like when I, before I was in this space, when I had my daughter 10 years ago, I was like, I do not need a doula. I'm not crunchy granola, like I, I equated doula to like home birth. It was really what was in my mind. Um, and I'm like, no, no, no. I need an or I need surgeons.
[00:12:59] Nicole: I need a blood bank. I [00:13:00] need things.
[00:13:00] Nicole: Yeah.
[00:13:01] Nicole: Um, I had no idea. So like, now that I'm in this space and I understand it. Do you think that that like knowledge is becoming, like that awareness of what a doula's role can be, is becoming more known in like the general public and general population besides those of us that are knee deep in this space?
[00:13:19] Briaa: Yeah, I think so. I do think the gap that I've seen is that I feel like the doula is a support person. Not necessarily a part of the, I don't wanna say they're not a part of the care team, but I feel like my provider and doula should be theoretically working together. Mm-hmm. And so I feel like, yes, I feel like more people are starting to know about doulas, but I don't think they realize there's maybe sometimes like what they fully encompass, which is really to be the advocate for the mother.
[00:13:51] Briaa: Um, they're not there to like remove the baby, you know, they're not there there to do a lot of those, like, I guess provider task, but really to work in tandem as like a [00:14:00] bridge between the provider and the patient. Mm-hmm. And so I do think so but I don't have any like data to support that. But from like the people that I speak to in the community, I do hear like, we want doulas, we love doulas.
[00:14:12] Briaa: How do we integrate them better to make sure they're able to support the patient fully?
[00:14:20] Nicole: Well, that's great to hear because I know it's been, it's been 10 years, but still I'm like, man, I was, I was under a little rock and so I hope you know, learning now, it's like I could have used that as well because of going from you having like the first pregnancy and delivery of being ooh, I and being very overwhelming.
[00:14:40] Nicole: The next one, it's like. How do you respond and how are you reacting and how, like all the, what's going on in your head for the next delivery? I get to use somebody that had been there, like holding my hand and be like, it's gonna be okay. Like, this is what to expect because there's still, um, I don't know if [00:15:00] you, with me, I had like, first was emergency C-section, the second was scheduled and there's a big difference and I, I don't remember what happened in the first one.
[00:15:08] Nicole: So yes, I ha this is my second pregnancy. But talk to me like I'm. The first time, you know, Al doesn't know any better because I don't know what to expect. So it would, that would've been really helpful to ease my mind I think, and just to be supportive in that way and explaining like the jargon. Still, I love my care team, but there's still stuff that like, there's just assumed that, you know.
[00:15:31] Briaa: I agree. I agree. Um, my older two are about 18 months apart. And so I feel like I didn't get a chance to really catch my breath between pregnancies, but I agree. I still feel like there was things that I went into my second one for one, having gestational diabetes I just didn't know. And for any of my mamas that have gestational diabetes, oh my goodness, it is a mental and emotional.
[00:15:55] Briaa: Emotionally taxing thing, like I think anything in pregnancy is just exacerbated. But, [00:16:00] you know, I wasn't thankfully on medication, but I had to check my sugars twice a day and just mentally, I just, just physically did not want to do it. By like month eight, I have a, uh, I was eight months, so Haley was one and a half.
[00:16:17] Briaa: I just did not have the space to like almost take care of myself. And so there's a lot of things still, like I said, even them being so close that I was just like, I just didn't understand like how important certain things were. And so that led to me having to get induced the second time because I, I theoretically wasn't taking care of myself.
[00:16:33] Briaa: And again, having that doula or a support person that kind of understands
[00:16:38] Nicole: mm-hmm Briaa,
[00:16:39] Briaa: you need to go and do a, b, and CI think that would've been super helpful for me to have that person, that support person.
[00:16:46] Nicole: And so that's a good like point too to, to kind of poke into you know, it's, and people get labeled as like non-compliant, right?
[00:16:56] Nicole: And so, oh my, oh my gosh, [00:17:00] right? Like, are you being a compliant patient or not? And so digging in and finding out like why. Why? It's not because I wanna be like, I want to non-comp comply. Like there are some people that are stubborn and just don't want to, but sometimes that's not it. Like is it, is it you're stubborn or is it like there's a lot going on at home.
[00:17:24] Nicole: You have an 18 month old baby that's also. Has complications and you have maybe not even processed that experience and here you go again. And you know, so just like understanding so much of this is like what's going on in her head.
[00:17:42] Briaa: Yeah. You know what that word noncompliant. It's funny because the rooms that I'm in now, like mentioned in the beginning.
[00:17:49] Briaa: We try to support outpatient clinics to implement non-medical screening for all patients and providing them with some resources and some care adjustment to make access to remove barriers to access and [00:18:00] care. Right. And I remember being in a meeting and, you know, the word non-compliant came up and I was like.
[00:18:05] Briaa: I hate that word. And I was like, and I say that as somebody who was non-compliant, and I say that as somebody who has a college education. So, you know, I think sometimes we link non-compliance to maybe lower socioeconomic status or certain, you know, identifiers. No. Sometimes as mamas we just don't have the capacity to do A, B and C.
[00:18:28] Briaa: Mm-hmm. And it's so funny because when I had my second daughter. I kind of knew that if they were calling me in, they were gonna induce me. And so I went and got my nails done. I went and cleaned up. I went and ate because they, they tricked me the first time. I didn't know when I got induced, I couldn't eat.
[00:18:44] Briaa: And so I was like, oh, you're not getting me. So when I finally got to the office, they're like, we've been waiting on you for hours. I was like, I know you were. I know I'm noncompliant, and she asked me like, have you checked your sugars? I said, I haven't checked them in about a week. And it's not because I didn't care about myself or my [00:19:00] baby or my body, but mentally I was exhausted.
[00:19:04] Briaa: And had somebody just asked me like, Hey, what can we do to support you? I would've told them, like, or, you know, at the same time, you know, uh, my oldest has, I mean, then it was way worse because we were seeing doctors like every six months, now they're spaced out. But I was trying to save my PTO for maternity leave, but I'm also having to make sure that she's getting the care she needs.
[00:19:26] Briaa: And between August of 2016 and December, we were in the er, urgent care. Um, clinic room every single month while I was pregnant. So if it's between me making sure my child is getting what she needs and I'm poking myself, I was always choosing my kid. But, and if they would've asked me, I would've told them, but, so I was not confined all throughout my pregnancy, and I just hate that word so much.
[00:19:51] Nicole: Mm, I do too. I do too. I'm like, I'm not being, I'm not being stubborn or hardheaded or lazy. Like, let's dig in. [00:20:00] Let's, let's dig a little deeper in how can patients be supported? How can families be supported that way that care teams ask those questions and mm-hmm. Don't just judge a book by its cover or make assumptions on what they think it is.
[00:20:14] Nicole: And, and really that's like, that's a way to support people is what's going on, what's going on, what's going on at
[00:20:20] Briaa: home. Mm-hmm. I remember telling my doctor, I was like, you know, it's interesting because I took a course on how to support diabetic patients before I had kids. And I remember thinking like, why wouldn't people just do it, right?
[00:20:35] Briaa: Like they, they need to do it. And I was like, here I am. And I'm like, ah, I don't want to, and I'm like, it's not, it just the, just the, I'm telling you just the physically having to get all of the stuff. Poke my, it was just, it was so draining. I was like, I just, I was like, I, so I see why people don't do it.
[00:20:51] Briaa: Not that I condone it, but again, like you said, how do we, how do we support people in that space? And so I had an amazing supervisor at the time [00:21:00] who was a nurse for her kids' school, like years ago. And in the morning at work, she would actually help me pick my, um, my sugar levels. So I thank her to this day because she supported me through my pregnancy.
[00:21:14] Briaa: So kind. I was exhausted and I just had, I just had such a great village outside of my clinical team, but it was still hard because I didn't even know what kind of questions like support to ask for at that moment. So I agree. Nicole, it would be nice if we said like, how can we support our patients that we say are non-compliant and how can we help them get to where we know they can have the best pregnancy outcomes possible?
[00:21:39] Nicole: It's like meeting them where they're at and meeting people where they're at. Like, what can you do? Okay, if you can't do.
[00:21:44] Nicole: Mm-hmm. Try daily
[00:21:45] Nicole: finger pokes. Like, what can you do? How can we, how can we help to make improvements? Like, Hey, we're in this quality improvement space. Like making some things better than nothing.
[00:21:57] Nicole: Like, or, you know, what, what can be done? [00:22:00] And so thank Oh man, I love to hear that you're you're coworker was able to help you with that. Yeah. Because that makes a, makes a difference too. Having a little accountability partner also of. Like, I know it's hard, but being able to sit down and get that done.
[00:22:13] Nicole: That's great to hear. Yeah. What other things would've been, um, supportive to you through any of your pregnancies?
[00:22:21] Briaa: You know, something I thought about after connecting with Mama's Voices is how I could have, or not me, but the like my providers could have supported my husband in this space. When I think about my pregnancy journeys, like he was always there, but he was almost kind of like off to the side versus like, we are having this child together and actually mm-hmm.
[00:22:44] Briaa: Engaging both of us. And I think about it more so with my third child because that was actually during COVID well 2021 is when I had my last one. And there was just things that was happening that he just [00:23:00] wasn't aware of. So like, as I'm, and I laugh because it's just, it's incredible to think about now, but um, after I had my, my youngest, I started bleeding profusely.
[00:23:11] Briaa: Profusely. They didn't know why. Um, I did have some fibroids, which I had asked them. I remember asking them about it. Like I, I tried to be more diligent in my third pregnancy because I'm like, I've been through this two times. I'm like trying to stay on top of things, but still, I still have two young ones at home, four or five.
[00:23:27] Briaa: I'm working full-time, but I'm still trying to stay on top of like my health. And so I had fibroids and I think those, that's what ended up causing a lot of the bleeding where they thought they was gonna have to do a blood transfusion. And I was just. Petrified and my husband was asleep and I was like, you know, no, don't wake him.
[00:23:45] Briaa: But no, as a provider it should have been, let me actually get your support person here to figure out what's going on so I can communicate to him what's going on. Because God forbid something was to happen to me and I didn't make wake up or make it out of that a lot, he would've had [00:24:00] no idea and how terrible for him.
[00:24:03] Briaa: Mm-hmm. And just thinking about him having to then see, because when he finally woke up, I mean, it's like blood everywhere, nurses running back and forth. Like it was, it was scary. So he's waking up like, what is happening? And I don't remember if anybody ever specifically addressed him. And so I think in these spaces it's important for, I mean, I don't think it should be on the, the, the birthing person.
[00:24:26] Briaa: Right. But still to bring in our support people, whether it's. Father, mother, auntie, uncle, grandparents, like, bring them in this space because we need a village. Like with any kids, any birth, we need a village. So I think
[00:24:40] Nicole: mm-hmm.
[00:24:40] Briaa: That's another thing I wish I would've been more intentional about, like bringing my husband in and making them know he's a part of this, these decisions just as much as I am.
[00:24:50] Briaa: You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. So that's something else that I, I thought about for my third one. Like that would, that's really critical. And I don't think we do that a lot in our medical system.
[00:24:58] Nicole: Mm-hmm. No, I mean, [00:25:00] it's, it's, you think back too to like after delivery, the mental exhaustion, the physical exhaustion, the all the things like if, depending on how sick somebody is, like they're, those, those, I say this all the time, like you can look at them and see they're not all there.
[00:25:19] Nicole: Things are not clicking and so they're not sinking in and so. As, as a mom, as someone that just had a baby, you need to have the people around you that are also aware because hopefully their brains and their two brain cells are working better than your brain cells are working and maybe, you know, putting it together, we'll figure it out.
[00:25:34] Nicole: But like. It does take multiple people hearing what's going on to understand the situation and to be able to have like that good follow up afterwards. How are you gonna get taken care of? And so just the whole thing is like, it's important to remember who's in the room and your poor husband. Oh my gosh.
[00:25:52] Nicole: Like he was out. I can, I can see this 'cause I'm this, I'm like, no, no, don't like him. No, no, no. Let him
[00:25:58] Briaa: sleep exhausted. We're [00:26:00] exhausted. And I'm like, wait, no. He should have been, he should have been aware. Um, and it also makes me think it's just women. We, we have got to take care of ourselves better. I feel like we, especially as, I mean, I think most women, but especially as mothers, we prioritize everybody else.
[00:26:18] Briaa: Because you just said something that made me think about my youngest first doctor's appointment. So I went in. For just a regular checkup on a Tuesday. And my blood pressure was blood pressure again. So I, not only for my last one, I was, you know, healthy, like walking every day. I barely gained weight. I was watching what I was eating 39 weeks and 37 and 39 weeks.
[00:26:41] Briaa: My blood pressure was high. And by me having a history, they're like worried. And so me and my, me and my, um, midwife are actually crying in the appointment together because she's like. I gotta send you in Briaa. And I was like, no, I don't wanna go. She was like, we talked about this and one of the things that I talked about with my third child [00:27:00] was in every doctor's appointment I said, you know, I know I'm high risk, right?
[00:27:05] Briaa: I'm 31, having my third child, I've had two high risk pregnancies. I'm black. I need to make it outta here alive. And I had just read the article about black women dying being two to three times more likely to die. Lemme take that, lemme, lemme rephrase that a little bit. I read an article that said white women were two to three times more likely to live after a birth than black women.
[00:27:27] Briaa: And it petrified me. And so I went into every doctor's appointment because you know, they have, you see different providers, right? So just so in case your doctor's in there, you know, you, they know you. I went into every doctor's appointment saying, how do I advocate for myself, right? I got two small kids at home, I gotta make it outta here alive.
[00:27:47] Briaa: What do I need to do? And I didn't realize that was a trauma response until recently. And so we get through the, you know, the pregnancy journey, have my baby. Almost bleed out. I'm in the [00:28:00] hospital for about a week that I get out on Sunday. Mother's Day. I took my daughter to her first doctor's appointment by myself Monday morning and I get there and they're, the doctor is like, where is your husband?
[00:28:14] Briaa: And I was like, well, he had to drop our other two babies off because that's mothers what we're so worried about everybody else but ourselves. And they're like, you're not supposed to be driving, you're not really supposed to be carrying anything. You just had you, you literally almost like died and you're here driving like it's nothing.
[00:28:32] Briaa: And it didn't even cross my mind because I feel like as women we're learned to what pick up and keep moving. We gotta take care of ourselves. We gotta, we have to because we have to. We have to.
[00:28:44] Nicole: It's so hard, even with like all the traveling that sometimes happens and it's like, I wanna come home and I just wanna sleep for like a week, but I feel.
[00:28:56] Nicole: Guilt. Guilt. 'cause I'm like, I've been off on [00:29:00] a work trip and I haven't been home, so I gotta do the chores. You know, make sure the house is in order. Get the kid ready for school next week. Like what all the things were, there's no time to recover, sit
[00:29:11] Briaa: out and breathe. Mm-hmm. Recover. That's a good word.
[00:29:13] Briaa: Recover. You're right. Mm-hmm. You're so right. And then, and you know, and I'm fortunate, I had three months off of work. I know a lot of people who don't, they're off for a couple weeks, maybe a month, and are going back after having. One of the most traumatic experiences, not only on your body, but on your mental, and we're jumping right back into life.
[00:29:36] Nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:36] Briaa: And never pausing. Yeah. It's, it's interesting. Mm-hmm. It's very, it's a very interesting system we have here.
[00:29:43] Nicole: Mm-hmm. Sure. Is what, um, now I haven't talked to anybody else in these podcasts about this, but I'm going to with you is what is your work like? The outpatient and the community-based organizations, like what have y'all been able to do [00:30:00] and seen success with?
[00:30:02] Briaa: Oh, that's a great question. So the work that I get to do has been around working with outpatient prenatal care clinics. And so we've had five pilots now, and with that we've been able to help them implement. Or, you know, update, change, improve. 'cause some of them have had screening systems, some of them have not.
[00:30:21] Briaa: But we've supported them in implementing systematic. Non-medical needs screening so that they're asking their patients basically, really, right, how can I support you? Are there any transportation insecurities? If so, how can we support you? And the pilots look a little different, but I'll share one of our pilots where they're connected with the community-based organization.
[00:30:42] Briaa: And so a patient is screened at their first prenatal appointment. Um, and that, you know, if they're screened positive for having some sort of non-medical need, um, their clinician or you know, nurse in May will then send a referral over to that community based organization. [00:31:00] From there, they're connecting the patient saying, Hey, you know, I got this referral from you.
[00:31:04] Briaa: I wanted to ask you a couple more questions just to make sure we didn't miss anything. And for an example, I see you have transportation and security. Well, we have these ride vouchers, or we're able to connect with your insurance. So really providing them with those resources to then help remove those barriers to care.
[00:31:20] Briaa: And then the final step usually is working with their providers to do some sort of care adjustment, whether that is virtual visits, whether that's group prenatal care, or whether that is streamlining their visits. And so we've had really good successes in like I said, a couple of our pilots where we're able to systematically screen and get those patient resources.
[00:31:38] Briaa: Um, and it's not always a community-based organization. Sometimes it's a resource list where patients are able to review the list, you know, call people. Or call those, um, resources to be able to get really the support that they need to be successful. Not even successful, but to be well supported throughout their pregnancy journey.
[00:31:57] Briaa: And so that has been one of the work we've been able [00:32:00] to do the past couple years.
[00:32:02] Nicole: How are you, connecting with the community based organizations, people are always asking like, how do I connect with them? I'm
[00:32:08] Nicole: like mm-hmm. Talk to them.
[00:32:12] Briaa: That's a great question. You know, the work that I've been able to do has been traditionally grant funded, and so usually, you know, there's, you know.
[00:32:20] Briaa: Usually, you know, a couple organizations that are doing really great work and those are the organizations that you can either go to to say, Hey, I have this idea. Can we partner? This is what we're thinking about. Or they're like coming to you saying, I see the work that you're doing. We wanna collaborate.
[00:32:34] Briaa: This is how we partner. And so I think it's really just being out in the community, making those connections, sharing the work that you're doing. You start to get an idea for like what's happening. And I think that was one of the biggest heels that I had to. Kind of climb when I first started in this space a couple years ago, is trying to figure out who are kind of the key players.
[00:32:53] Briaa: Like what is the community? What is the CBO? Right? What do they provide? What are they doing? So, you know, my team and I have been able to look across, you know, [00:33:00] our state to see where those key players are at and like how, where those resources are at and how we can connect our clinics to these resources outside of grant funding.
[00:33:08] Briaa: Right? So like when our grants scan mm-hmm. How we could create the sustainability. And it's really through opening those doors of communication with folks.
[00:33:19] Nicole: Excellent. I love that. How are, um, how's your community advisory group helping with that as well?
[00:33:26] Briaa: They're incredible. I actually just had the, I've, I've had such a great experience. I have six now of the most amazing human beings on our group, and so what we try to have them do is review anything that is.
[00:33:39] Briaa: Patients will see. And so our workflows, our patient flyers, our screening tools, we have them review that to be able to provide really that patient perspective. Like, yes, I am a mother. I've had, you know, I've been in the maternity care space, but sometimes I think we get a little bit more removed and like that personal professional line.
[00:33:58] Briaa: Very interesting [00:34:00] sometimes. And so I have these six people mm-hmm. Who are in various different spaces, all with maternity care experience, who can review all of our things to make sure that it is culturally competent, that is trauma-informed and that it is patient friendly and patient-centered.
[00:34:16] Briaa: And so any of our work with our pilots, with other things, like we have our PA review and there we try to. Work with them as really like a, um, not even an advisory board, but like our decision makers to say, what should we be doing? Mm-hmm. And they tell us, we discuss it and then we implement it. And so we've had, we've just had an, we've had an incredible experience and an incredible journey with, with our PCAP so far.
[00:34:41] Nicole: That's awesome. It's being able to have a group that you. You can go to and be like, what are the needs? What are your needs? And instead of coming like, this is a solution that we think is gonna work. Mm-hmm. Um, but asking them like, what is it that you need? Because they're ones like, if you, if you [00:35:00] don't do that, you don't have that buy-in, like people aren't gonna use it and then there's a whole different issue.
[00:35:03] Nicole: Right. But being able to, to utilize them for that is amazing. And having them being the decision maker. Love to hear that. Yeah. I love that. I was like, there was something I was thinking. Mm-hmm. It left my mind, I lost it. I
[00:35:18] Briaa: rp One other thing I wanted to make sure I sh I shared, you know, when I launched RP Cab two years ago, I was new to this space.
[00:35:24] Briaa: I was taking my experience and trying to create. Really a safe space for folks, right? And I, I just have to try to rpca because they have met me with so much grace and understanding and thoughtfulness and kindness, and I just appreciate that and I appreciate that I'm able to use my personal experiences and my professional work, for the most part to really elevate patient voices and again.
[00:35:48] Briaa: All of our PA members come through Mama's Voices training. And that will be something that we will continue to do as we grow and expand, because I do think it's such a need for folks to have this, this tool, right, this training. Mm-hmm. [00:36:00] And so I just love our PCA. They're great.
[00:36:04] Nicole: I can see that. Like your face just started glowing when you're talking about them.
[00:36:07] Briaa: You're
[00:36:07] Nicole: incredible.
[00:36:08] Nicole: That's what I was, I was thinking was about like how you know, even though we. We have our own. You and I each have our own birth experience.
[00:36:25] Nicole: It's. We're in this person off the street, right? And so it kind of influences or it can influence our own thought process and, and things like that. And so having a group of people that have the different backgrounds, the different experiences, like what we teach is if you're gonna have patients that are bringing in their stories and having some influence over what your work is, you need to have more than one voice.
[00:36:46] Briaa: Yeah. I agree
[00:36:48] Nicole: because we might have the exact same demographics and have had different outcomes and experiences. We might have had the same experience, but we took it differently. [00:37:00] Exactly. And so. You know, we have to have many different voices that are in the room, that are sharing that. Because if you make a policy on one person's experience, ooh, you're in trouble.
[00:37:11] Nicole: That's, I can tell you, it's gonna backfire on you. It's gonna backfire on you. So you have to have that. Presentation mm-hmm. That's out there instead of, I've, I've seen the ones that have made policies on one voice and, um, it didn't last. So,
[00:37:26] Briaa: um,
[00:37:27] Nicole: that's great that you're, you're able to, to work with your group that way.
[00:37:30] Briaa: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I'm, I'm super fortunate and grateful for that experience
[00:37:34] Nicole: too. Well, as we're wrapping up our time together, I'll ask you one last question. Okay. If someone is thinking about taking Mama's voice as patient family partner training and they may be nervous or hesitant about it, what would you say to them?
[00:37:50] Nicole: What advice would you give them?
[00:37:53] Briaa: I would say this will be one of the best investments you make in yourself. Like I said, I [00:38:00] felt like a long time I didn't have a story to share and I didn't know how to share it. Um, but meeting with mama's voices, going through the training, not only learning how to. Write out my story.
[00:38:13] Briaa: I was a, I was able to learn how to articulate it, not only to just like my family and friends, but you know, you guys have a piece in there about how you talk to your policymakers to make sure they're not making policies that's for certain groups of people, but that benefit, you know, the majority of birthing people.
[00:38:30] Briaa: It also just tells you and shows you how. Important is to take care of yourself. So I will say, if you're nervous are scared, just think about this as one of the best investments you can make for yourself.
[00:38:42] Nicole: Ooh, we're gonna take that as some self-care.
[00:38:46] Briaa: Yes,
[00:38:46] Nicole: exactly. Exactly. That's gonna be a new point to talk about Mama's Voices training.
[00:38:51] Nicole: It's self-care. Yeah.
[00:38:53] Briaa: You can do this and they go get a massage, but, but you get this off your mental you, you, and I think that you [00:39:00] talk about this, and I've taken it two years ago, but you guys talk about giving yourself space to even. Think about your birthing story, right? To be able to digest it and then go get a massage.
[00:39:12] Nicole: We've been doing some chair yoga. We have some chair yoga flashcards, and so whenever we have some big meetings at work, they usually get pulled out and we do some breathing and then yeses before we, before we dig into the hard stuff. So
[00:39:25] Briaa: I love that. I love that.
[00:39:27] Nicole: Well, thank you Briaa for your time today and, and meeting with us.
[00:39:32] Nicole: Um, I'm so glad I got to catch up with you today and, and hear about all the great things that y'all are continuing to do. It just, I could see your passion and truly your face was glowing when you're talking about your prap like glowing.
[00:39:45] Briaa: Thank you. Thank you, Nicole. Yes, it's always a pleasure to be able to connect with you and I hope to talk to you soon.
[00:39:50] Briaa: But thank you for your time and for allowing me to share my birthing story today.
