In this powerful episode of The EMBER Project Podcast, I sit down with Jessica Brooks Woods for a conversation that goes far beyond statistics and into the systems that shape maternal health outcomes in this country. We talk honestly about maternal health equity, bias in healthcare, and why young mothers, especially Black and Brown mothers, continue to face disproportionate risk despite decades of awareness.

Jessica shares the deeply personal story that led her into this work, including her mother’s traumatic birth experience and how being unseen and unheard in the medical system leaves lasting scars. Her story is a sobering reminder that maternal health crises are not rare, and they are not accidents. They are the result of systems that fail to listen.

Throughout our conversation, we unpack why maternal and infant mortality rates remain unacceptably high, why bias is often the deciding factor in outcomes, and how stigma and dismissal affect young and teen mothers in particularly damaging ways. Jessica explains why these disparities are not biological, but engineered, and why listening, dignity, and accountability matter more than any new technology.

We also explore the critical role employers play in maternal health, from benefits design to access to care, and why leaving these conversations solely to hospitals and policymakers will never be enough. Jessica challenges us to think differently about responsibility, leadership, and what real advocacy looks like when lives are at stake.

For young and teen moms listening, this episode carries a clear message, you matter, your voice matters, and your experience does not disqualify you, it equips you. For healthcare leaders, employers, and policymakers, this conversation is a call to stop asking women to survive broken systems and start building systems worthy of mothers.