The Standing Committee on Reproductive Health, Equity, and Society is a group of experts at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that will lead a cross-cutting initiative on equitable access to reproductive health. As part of the initiative, the standing committee will develop webinars on reproductive health topics that can increase awareness and promote dialogue in the medical, public health, societal and general population.

The standing committee will organize a public webinar series, with support from members of the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education, to explore social determinants of health that negatively impact maternal health outcomes. Experts including health care providers, researchers, and academicians, will share data and lived experiences of pregnant women from historically marginalized communities. Discussions on maternal health disparities, which are framed by the social determinants of health and community-engaged education, will include topics such as:

• Looking at the mental health needs of pregnant women in underserved communities and the work of doulas for reaching pregnant women in these underserved communities in need of formal mental health services;
• Exploring support for historically marginalized pregnant women through innovative community-based organizations & community-based models of care;
• Reviewing outcome studies of maternal health care and disparities among active-duty servicewomen;
• Understanding micro-aggression and implicit bias awareness among providers and educators in maternal health; and
• Building trust among historically marginalized pregnant women.

A proceedings-in-brief will be produced by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.