I-HOPE Team at the Black Maternal Health Conference 2026

The Grady Trauma Project was proud to have 6 members of our Improving Health Outcomes through PTSD Screening for Expectant Black Mothers (I-HOPE) study team attend at the 2026 Black Maternal Health Conference hosted by Black Mamas Matter here in Atlanta, Georgia! This year’s theme was “Rooted in Justice & Joy: 10 Years of Building the Black Maternal Health Movement!” which celebrated and reckoned with a decade of groundbreaking work that has transformed the landscape of Black Maternal Health in the U.S. and across the diaspora. 

Dr. Chaela Nutor and Nicole Sessions kicked off the first day of the conference with a talk titled “Listening, Screening, and Supporting: A Culturally Responsive PTSD Intervention for Pregnant Black Women.” Chaela Nutor is a postdoctoral fellow on the project and Nicole Sessions serves as a peer provider conducting interventions with participants. Their talk summarized preliminary findings regarding the stressors, coping strategies, and resources that mothers reported during the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment as part of the I-HOPE study. 

Our clinical research coordinator, Sarah Kuhil, presented a poster titled “Race-Related Stress and PTSD in Black Perinatal Women: Collectivism as a Cultural Strength. This work provided novel evidence linking collectivism to improved mental health for Black perinatal women, highlighting implications for trauma-informed, culturally responsive prenatal care.

We are so proud of the entire I-HOPE team and are extremely thankful for all  participants and community organizations that make this work possible.