How can we, as a society, better support Black expectant parents and their babies in light of how vulnerable they are to dying in America? And what root causes must be addressed to do this most effectively?

To find out, we spoke to Melissa Franklin, the first Black director of Maternal Child and Adolescent Health for LA County’s Department of Public Health. Dr. Franklin is a system transformation leader with over 25 years of experience in organizational development, community engagement and communications strategy. This is the second in a two-part series with Dr. Melissa Franklin.