Ijeoma Uche, a third-year MD and Ph.D. student at UC Davis, is pioneering efforts at the intersection of medicine, technology, and health equity. She was recently featured as a guest on “Face to Face With Chancellor May.”
Uche has a strong interest in maternal and fetal health and aims to create systemic change. To this end, she co-founded Birth By Us, a visual health platform designed to improve clinical equity for mothers throughout the United States.
“It started out with focus groups with moms where we sat down with them and asked, ‘We know that you’re experiencing all these different complications during pregnancy and postpartum, what would you like to see happen?,’” Uche explained. “And with those conversations sprouted Birth By Us in a different form.”
Birth By Us seeks to empower pregnant individuals by helping them better understand and advocate for their health while aiding clinicians in providing more equitable care. The app combines patient-centered design with clinical tools to address longstanding disparities in maternal health outcomes.
“Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts,” Uche stated. “And something that Serena Williams even talked about is understanding her body and understanding that ‘I am at high risk of having blood clots’ and people not listening to her.”
Chancellor Gary S. May concurred with the importance of addressing these issues: “There are some equity issues that need to be addressed in healthcare, particularly for maternal healthcare.”
Uche acknowledges the significant role played by mentors Dr. Susan Brown and Dr. Jennifer Rosenthal in her academic and entrepreneurial journey.
For more information about Birth By Us or Ijeoma’s future plans, tune into the show where she also shares advice for aspiring leaders.
Chancellor May has interviewed over 40 guests on his monthly talk show “Face to Face,” including faculty, staff, and students. All episodes are available on the Face to Face webpage.
