The Pivot with Shawna Howard

Shawna (at far left) stands with other Gilings School students who planned Black Maternal Health Week, plus an event panelist.

Shawna Howard wants to bridge gaps using digital health tools.

What’s your role in public health?

I am a birth and postpartum doula and a 2024 Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate of the maternal and child health department. I just started a new job with Mae Health — a digital health company focused on improving maternal health outcomes, particularly for Black mothers and babies. The platform provides personalized support and care coordination throughout the pregnancy journey and postpartum period. Mae Health uses technology to connect expectant mothers with doulas, midwives and other health care providers, offering resources that address the unique challenges Black women face.

Before I entered grad school, I was doing a health technology fellowship in New York, and my last rotation was in digital health. I remember trying to figure out, “What am I going to do next?” I ultimately ended up getting a position with Maven Clinic (a virtual clinic that focuses on the health of women and their families). Coordinating care for people in various stages of their reproductive health journey opened my eyes to how we reach people and how we can address the social determinants of health by using technology to meet people where they are.

I found out what a doula was during college and trained through a program in New York. That was cool, but I was lacking experience with the community aspect of being a doula. When I moved back to North Carolina, I learned about the LEADoula program. [Editor’s note: The goal of LEADoula is to improve Black women’s maternal and birth outcomes and increase their overall birth satisfaction by increasing their access to social, emotional and educational support from professionally trained Black doulas.] That was a great experience, and I got so much out of it — especially learning about culturally concordant care, which hinges on a shared cultural identity between patient and provider that enhances their relationship and ultimately yields improvements in patient care.

Can you describe your focus area in one sentence?

My focus area within maternal health, specifically, is Black maternal health.

Within that, it’s how we can use technology to bridge gaps in patient care and maternal health outcomes, with a focus on the significance of continuous birth support from a doula.

What brought you to public health and the Gillings School?

I’ve always had an interest in pregnancy and childbirth. I was the kid who would watch “A Baby Story” on TLC and think it was really cool. I felt like I was just way different from most people in my age group as far as my interests. It wasn’t until college that I found out about public health, and it was a really good fit for me. College was when it hit me that not everything that I was watching on TV showed what was actually happening with Black women and Black birthing people.

I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina, and UNC has always been a big deal. It’s really special that our state, and Gillings specifically, has one of the only freestanding maternal and child health departments in the country.

Shawna (center, in a white dress) celebrates with her family following her graduation from the Gillings School.

I built a nice community as an MPH student. In our first year, my cohort got a good idea of what skills we’d gained from our classes and what was still missing. Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha — the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health and founder of the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University — came to speak with us and said something along the lines of, “You must hold the system accountable for your success.”

I thought, ‘Wow, that’s exactly what we’re doing with our Black Maternal Health Week events. We are proactively making sure students’ specific interests are being spotlighted, promoted and supported by the department so there are no gaps in our education.”

The idea to organize these events started in my mind when I was sitting in class, actually. A fellow student, Maya Chevalier, was like, “Wait, it’s Black Maternal Health Week?!” We wondered, “Why aren’t we doing more to acknowledge this, as a School and as a department?”

We began talking with faculty and staff, trying to create a budget and inviting people to participate. We had our inaugural celebration in April, and it was a really good starting point. I’m excited to see how the department’s Black Maternal Health Week events continue to evolve — in 2025, they will take place from Friday, April 11, to Thursday, April 17.

Meanwhile, I’m grateful for the planning team and other students in the department who worked on organizing while we were all at Gillings: Iman Love, Precious Ikejiaku, Christal Vuata, Jasmine Mumpfield, Leigha Mills, Maya Chevalier, Ariana Frazier, Verdant Julius and Caiyah Stephens.

Can you describe a time when you’ve pivoted in your public health career?

During the pandemic, for sure. After things opened back up a bit, I wanted to start attending births as a doula in New York, but hospital restrictions were still really strict. I tried to go to a birth but the mother’s mom and partner were already there, so the staff wouldn’t let me up. The best I could do in that situation was provide support through FaceTime.

That pushed me into maternal health even more, actually. Black maternal health outcomes worsened during COVID-19, and I think a lot of Black women were hit with a double pandemic. We already had the Black maternal health crisis, and on top of that, we had COVID. That collision didn’t help.

Who are you when you’re at home?

I’m a person who thrives on community. Usually, I’m on FaceTime with one of my best friends who just finished a doctoral degree in Chicago — we always make time for each other. You might also find me talking to my sister, niece and nephews, sharing my latest updates and discoveries with my grandfather, or trying new restaurants with my partner in the Triangle area.

Interacting with my people is what keeps me going and is a good reminder of why I’m doing what I’m doing. They’re not in public health, but because I’m passionate about it, they listen and care.