MISSION
MOTHER Lab x Tufts University School of Medicine
MOTHER Lab is the student and young professional branch of Tufts Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice. Our work began in 2020 before the Center was created and is now incorporated in the Center as one of its main units. While some of our lab members are students or graduates of Tufts/Tufts Medical School, many of our members are not Tufts students; we accept talent from all universities across the United States. Our lab members receive stipends based on grants that the lab acquires, making this a fully self-sufficient student-led research lab.
If you would like to donate to help provide our student with stipends and fund our research and advocacy work, please visit our Make a Difference page. Every dollar makes a difference!
Our Mission
To address and eradicate inequities Black women face, through research, advocacy, and mentorship by confronting and dismantling the system that enables and perpetuates racism for Black women who give birth.
Our Vision
A world where all Black women who want to become mothers can efficiently and comfortably receive equitable access to the same high caliber healthcare services as other women without their concerns being dismissed. A world where black women do not face maternal health complications due to racism, homophobia and/or sexism throughout their lives or throughout their pregnancies.
Our Goals
- To address maternal and child health inequities for Black women through solution-focused research and policy interventions by:
- Demonstrating collaboration within the lab and across partner and peer organizations.
- Applying in-lab research to support community and reproductive justice work
- Address and advocate for maternal health inequities at both the local and national level:
- Through the use of epidemiologic and community based participatory research studies.
- Through a health equity focused lens.
- By contributing to the evidence-base on best practices and other recommendations to eliminate maternal health disparities for black women
- Acquire funding for research, stipends, and lab-related needs:
- Raise $100,000 our 1st year.
- Write, edit and submit grants.
- Plan fundraisers
- To educate our local and national community through webinars, and sharing information via social media:
- Creating webinars and disseminating information.
- Sharing out the information about current events.
- Host events that educate the larger Boston community on maternal health disparities.
- Contribute and lead to the scientific body of knowledge on Black women and their health outcomes
- Create strong partnerships and leverage stakeholder relationships to expand MOTHER Lab to become one of the largest Maternal equity labs in the nation:
- Establish ourselves as a top reliable source on all issues related to Black maternal health.
- Develop and maintain a list of partners and stakeholders that are engaged in the work that we can support and that can support us
- To create and foster a welcoming and inclusive research and professional development environment for people passionate maternal health inequities with a focus on representing minorities:
- Taking action for each person in the lab to advocate about the importance of our mission.
- Supporting each other and fellow MOTHER Lab members both personally and professionally through formal and informal mentoring opportunities
MOTHER Lab 