Mendez

Findings by Drs. Dara Mendez, Jill Demirci, and Esa Davis show that:
- Childbearing people who reported higher perceived stress were less likely to breastfeed exclusively
- Perceived social support moderated perceived stress, thereby increasing the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding
- Received social support did not moderate perceived stress; however, it directly increased the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding
- Overall, Black childbearing people in our study were less likely to exclusively breastfeed

Dr. Sarah Minion, Dr. Elizabeth Krans, and Dr. Dara Mendez found in a recent study that longer driving distance to the delivery hospital was associated with greater risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Dara Mendez and Dr. Judy Chang response article addresses the questions raised in “How Gentle Must Violence Against Women be in Order to not be Violent? Rethinking the Word ‘Violence; in Obstetric Settings” and concludes that naming violence is critical for describing people’s experiences of such violence and for addressing the structures and contexts that create and fuel such violence, not for judgment but for accountability and change.

This call for Black artists in the Pittsburgh region, Allegheny County, and South Western Pennsylvania seeks work highlighting gestation, child birth, child loss, postpartum, and more.

Learn more and apply here: https://pmoms.pitt.edu/news/Call-for-Artists

We worked with Pitt's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion on The Intersections of Inequity, Justice, and Health: Reproductive Autonomy for All as part of the 2022 Diversity Forum. Meet our amazing panelists: 

Dr. Dara Mendez and her team looked at neighborhoods in Minneapolis with high police presence to see if there's an association with preterm births. Findings suggest that increased police presence may contribute to the persistent preterm birth disparities. 

Read more about Dr. Mendez's findings here. 

Looking at Dr. Dara Mendez, Dr. Esa Davis, and their team's study on stress trends throughout pregnancy and postpartum, the COVID-19 pandemic may have adverse implications for birthing populations in the U.S.

The PA Maternal Mortality Report for 2021 was recently published. CONVERGE members who helped support this publication include Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, Dara Mendez, PhD, MPH, and Nancy Niemczyk, PhD, CNM. 

Dr. Dara Mendez was interviewed for WQED's special, A Broken System: Health Care Inequity. 

Dr. Marian Jarlenski and Dr. Dara Mendez will investigate the implementation of and effects of 3 equity-focused policies in Pennsylvania's Medicaid program: a payment incentive available to Medicaid health plans that achieve excellent outcomes for Black pregnant persons and young children; bundled payment model for pregnancy care that rewards providers who reduce racial inequities; and implementation of Regional Accountable Health Councils to design equity-focused community interventions.