Maternal Health: What’s Changed And What The Future Holds

Listen now to About Health (7/8/24) on KPFA.org 94.1FM

https://archives.kpfa.org/data/20240708-Mon1400.mp3

We discussed the many major issues people face related to pre-natal care, pregnancy, abortion, mental health, birth, c-sections, and postpartum complications. Racial disparities exist and Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. There are many factors that contribute to these disparities, such as the quality in healthcare, any underlying chronic conditions, racism, and implicit bias. We will talk about some of the social determinants of health, and what can be done to reduce infant and maternal illness and death.

Guest:

Amanda P. Williams, MD, MPH, FACOG is the Clinical Innovation Advisor with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) based at Stanford University School of Medicine where she also is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In Spring 2024, Dr. Williams founded Poplar Lane Advisors LLC to create a platform to support startup companies and non profit organizations navigating the world of maternal health equity.

Dr. Williams previously served as Medical Director at Mahmee, a tech-enabled maternal health company dedicated to improving health equity and empowering families with wraparound care during the pregnancy and postpartum period. In this role she oversaw the company’s clinical programming, while fostering institutional partnerships, developing new business opportunities and supporting investor outreach.

Prior to joining Mahmee, Dr. Williams was a practicing OBGYN at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center where she served as Director of Maternity Services. Additionally, she oversaw the maternity continuum across Kaiser’s 15 medical centers in Northern California. She has also served on several state and national committees, such as the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review, the California Surgeon General’s perinatal redesign stakeholder group, and the National Quality Forum Maternal Morbidity and Mortality work group.

Dr. Williams is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Harvard University. She completed her medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine where she also received a master’s degree in public health. She completed her graduate medical training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Williams is a prominent voice on maternal health and health equity.

 

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Listen here to today’s show (4/10/23) on 94.1FM—KPFA.org

https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=398972

From microdosing mushrooms, to ecstasy, to Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), the Bay Area is home to what some are calling a psychedelic renaissance.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is a treatment method that involves utilizing ketamine to help patients struggling to find relief from mental health symptoms such as resistant depression, post-partum depression, terminal illness anxiety, or PTSD. It is also used by some to explore existential and spiritual questions about their life.

Join me and my guest Melissa Whippo to discuss Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. We’ll discuss why preparation before the treatment, integration afterwards, and the set and setting, are so important in this treatment model.

Guest:

Melissa Whippo is a licensed clinical social worker, certified yoga instructor, and practitioner of sacred herbalism. She has guided thousands of women through transformational experiences, from motherhood to the ceremonial. Her work focuses on holistic healing, liminal self discovery, and sacred reciprocity. Clinically, she incorporates aspects of attachment theory, object relations, internal family systems, and has a keen interest in dreamwork and authentic movement. She has been practicing Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy since 2019 and has been a lead trainer with the Ketamine Training Center and Inbodied Life. She is pioneering research on postpartum depression and psychedelics. Learn more at www.melissawhippo.com

Resources:

-The Fireside Project is a help and harm-reduction site for people working with psychedelics.

-MAPS is a foundation working in clinical research Phase 3 trials for psilocybin and MDMA.

-The Beckley Foundation is a female-founded psychedelic research organization in the U.K. that also runs retreats in Jamaica, where psilocybin is legal.

-Erowid is a longtime online source of information for all things psychedelic, including sourcing and dosing.

-Reddit has several subreddits dedicated to psychedelics, including resource materials, sourcing and dosing.

-The Ancestor Project is a source of support for psychedelic use and integration focused on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color).