is a production of the National Perinatal Association.
Our mission is to... EDUCATE our interdisciplinary community... ADVOCATE for pregnant people, families, and providers... INTEGRATE evidence-based, trauma-informed care practices
as we work to improve perinatal care TOGETHER.
OUR NEWEST EPISODE:
In this episode, we discuss inequalities in perinatal care with a focus on Black communities in the United States.
While we outline many of the problems, we also try to begin to offer helpful and hopeful solutions for better outcomes.
We're joined by Dr. Tiffany Willis, Dr. LaTrice L. Dowtin, Dr. Sayida Peprah, and Katrina Stoddard, LCMFT, LMFT. Our host is Erika Goyer from the National Perinatal Association.
OUR GUESTS:
Dr. Dowtin is a Black cisgender woman and is a licensed clinical professional counselor with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
She is the founder and executive director at PlayfulLeigh Psyched, which is a private teletherapy practice that has been serving Maryland, Florida, and Missouri since 2018.
Dr. Dowtin specializes in trauma recovery using a social justice and anti-racist framework for infants, young children/families, adults, and perinatal populations.
She is multilingual, showing native fluency in both American English and African American Vernacular English (AAVE), while having proficiency in American Sign Language (ASL).
Dr. Dowtin is on the executive committee for the National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) as an incoming co-chair, and serves as a member of the National Perinatal Association’s Perinatal Mental Health Workgroup.
She is passionate about serving people from historically, racially, and linguistically marginalized populations such as Black and brown communities and the Deaf community.
Dr. Dowtin aims to disrupt the transmission of generational trauma from conception through adulthood.
Dr. Sayida Peprah is both a licensed clinical psychologist and birth doula with specialty in multicultural psychology, trauma, suicide prevention and maternal mental health.
Dr. Sayida earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with a Multicultural Clinical-Community Emphasis, from the California School of Professional Psychology, at Alliant International University.
She completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology and Religion at Spelman College.
She has had a multifaceted career as a psychologist having worked in community-based, in-home, psychiatric hospital, prison and private practice settings.
Katrina Stoddard is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT) in the states of Kansas and Missouri.
In addition to being in private practice, she teaches a graduate course at the University of Kansas as well as provide guidance and therapy skills to graduate level students at Friends University.
She specializes in couples therapy, maternal mental health, and trauma in adults as well as children.
"I am an ally to all individuals, partners, and families! I define "family" how you define family, any human being that is meaningful in your life. I respect diversity and work with all family structures, genders, and cultures... When I became a mother, it became clear to me that mothers of color need more support. I do this work because it fills my heart and is my contribution to people of color."
Dr. Tiffany Willis is a licensed clinical psychologist and owner of Hope.Love.Heal.Therapy & Consulting.
She is also an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and serves as the Perinatal/Neonatal Psychologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City.
Dr. Willis’ clinical interests include attachment and bonding, trauma, infant and perinatal mental health, and empowering families who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Persons of Color (BIPOC).
Dr. Willis’ research interests include the impact of psychosocial support for parents on the well-being of their baby and the power of attachment on the developing infant brain.
Dr. Willis is on the board of directors and a founding member of the Missouri Association for Infant Mental Health and Early Childhood (MOAIMH-EC) and an executive board member for Hand To Hold.
She is on the executive committee for the National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) and also chairs the National Perinatal Association’s Perinatal Mental Health Workgroup.