I soon came to realize that these issues required a systemic response. I wanted to be part of that solution. I shifted my focus from clinical care to public health, earning an MPH at Harvard Chan School in 2006.
To reduce deaths from postpartum hemorrhage, health officials hoped to bring women living in remote areas to well-equipped hospitals to give birth. After speaking with Indigenous women in the target villages, however, we realized that such a strategy would not succeed.
We recognized the value in honoring their Indigenous tradition and understood we were unlikely to change the course of their birthing journeys. So we rethought the approach. Rather than bring women into hospitals, we focused on improving training for the midwives who attended home births.
Many of these midwives lacked formal education, so there was tension between them and the medical establishment. They didn't often receive the respect they deserved.
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