This week on The Mommy Labor Nurse Podcast, I'm honored to have a distinguished guest, Dr. Wanda Barfield, joining us in support of the CDC's Hear Her Campaign. This initiative aims to raise awareness about maternal health issues and promote respectful maternity care.

The CDC has recently released its 2023 Vital Signs Report, shedding light on crucial statistics and findings related to maternal care in the United States.

During our time with Dr. Barfield, we'll explore the report's insights, discuss the importance of addressing mistreatment during pregnancy and delivery, and learn how the Hear Her campaign is working to improve communication between healthcare providers and pregnant and postpartum patients.

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About Dr. Wanda Barfield

Wanda Barfield, MD, MPH, FAAP, is the Director of the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She also serves as Assistant Surgeon General in the U.S. Public Health Service.

She received her medical and public health degrees from Harvard University and completed a pediatrics residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at Harvard's Joint Program in Neonatology (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital, and Children's Hospital, Boston). Before joining CDC in 2000, she was Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington.

She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She is a Fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and is the CDC liaison to the AAP Section on Perinatal Pediatrics (SoPPe) and Committee on Fetus and Newborn (COFN). She continues to do clinical work in neonatology, providing care to critically ill newborns in Atlanta, Georgia.