Maria Muzik, MD, MSc and Cecilia Martinez-Torteya, PhD, from Zero To Thrive, were honored for their research as recipients of the 2023 Woman’s Health Innovation Fund Award.

Their study, "The role of medical discrimination on racial health disparities in perinatal outcomes," aims to delve into the critical issue of medical discrimination experienced by Black women during pregnancy and its implications for postpartum mental health, infant birthweight, gestational age at birth, and infant development at 6 months.

The study seeks to assess the quality of prenatal healthcare, experiences of medical discrimination, and peripartum morbidity and infant outcomes. Their findings will serve as a pivotal step towards understanding and addressing perinatal healthcare disparities among marginalized communities.

This award issued by the University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Woman's Hospital, the Woman's Health Innovation Fund provides resources to physicians and researchers in the early stages of launching important scientific research on women’s health topics. This support

helps to advance the creative concepts and revolutionary studies that could lead to the next big breakthrough in medicine. Read more about the award and the other research project that were honored here.