BMHC26 Abstract Submission Guidelines 

PLEASE READ OUR GUIDELINES FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EACH TRACK AND SESSION TYPE.

BMHC26 offers a global space for learning, rich discussions, and mobilization to transform Black Maternal Health, Rights, and Justice. The Hybrid Conference meets a need for a forum dedicated to Black maternal health and invites all practitioners, providers, and paraprofessionals who serve and care for communities most impacted by maternal health inequities to join us!

PRESENTER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

If your abstract is accepted, presenters will receive an email notification, and the next steps for accepting the offer to present will be outlined. Acceptance does not guarantee presenter status. Potential presenters will become official BMHC26 session presenters only after submitting all required preliminary information, completed forms, and conference registration payment. All presenters listed on an accepted abstract proposal must register for the conference—NO EXCEPTIONS. This includes every individual participating in oral presentations and panel discussions. Failure to register will result in removal from the program.

Presenter Registration Rates:

• Early Registration (Deadline TBA): $275 per presenter
• After Deadline: $300 per presenter

Discounted Presenter Rate Eligibility:

• Oral Sessions: Up to two (2) presenters per session
• Panel Discussions: Up to four (4) panelists per session

All presenters must complete registration and submit all required informational forms by the specified deadlines to secure their spot in the program. Incomplete submissions will not be processed.

PRESENTER CONSIDERATIONS

A willingness to read and review content guidelines and instructions must be demonstrated in order to submit an abstract. All accepted proposals will be in-person sessions taking place on either Friday, September 11th, or Saturday, September 12th, 2026.
Important Note: We cannot accept requests to present on a specific day/time. You acknowledge by submitting an abstract proposal that ALL presenters are available to present in-person on Friday, September 11^th OR Saturday, September 12^th.

We recognize that AI tools are widely used; however, please make sure your proposals reflect original submissions and are accurate, authentic, and clearly reflect your actual work and impact.

CONFERENCE TRACKS

• Policy/Advocacy (PA): Addresses, advocates, and/or presents health equity-informed local, state, federal, or international policy work that can shift the landscape of Black maternal health, globally and domestically (U.S.). Special consideration for work that reflects on ten years of policy change across different political systems and healthcare contexts, including comparative policy analyses.
• Holistic Care & Clinical Innovation (HC/CI): Addresses gaps in care and continuity of care across the full spectrum of reproductive, maternal, and perinatal health; is culturally informed and includes traditional practices; is Black Mama-, family-, and parent-centered and patient-led. We seek submissions from diverse clinical disciplines, including midwifery, obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, nursing, family medicine, doula care, lactation, reproductive health and family planning, fertility care, gynecology (endometriosis, fibroids, reproductive cancers), cardiovascular health, pediatrics, NICU, pharmacology, mental health and perinatal psychology, social work, nutrition, and community health work. This includes any specialized content that leverages multi-sector partnerships, care models delivered in diverse settings (birth centers, hospitals, community clinics) across global regions, and that addresses the full spectrum of factors impacting Black maternal health outcomes.
• Research & Evaluation (RE): Explores and utilizes scientific methods & principles that build the evidence for; assess innovative approaches to; and/or identify new scholarship in advancing Black maternal and reproductive health domestically and internationally. We especially welcome participatory action research, community-based research, and decolonial research methodologies. Comparative international studies and multi-national research collaborations are strongly encouraged.
• Culture Shift (CS): Presents new or unique thoughts, ideas, practices, and/or forms of media that have become or are becoming part of the existing culture within Black maternal health work and spaces; highlights our collective creativity that serves to drive the work forward with an emphasis on Black feminist and womanist approaches as well as culturally-specific creative traditions from across the diaspora.
• Expressive Arts (EA): Celebrates the power of art and the humanities as vital tools for illuminating the Black maternal health landscape. We invite proposals that explore innovations, technologies, histories, and lived experiences in Black maternal health through creative mediums such as multimedia visual arts, music, film, literature, spoken word, and performance. Submissions should demonstrate how artistic expression can inspire dialogue, advance equity, preserve culture, and catalyze solutions that uplift Black birthing people, families, cultures and communities most impacted by maternal health inequities (Afro-futurism), Afro-Latina and/or Indigenous communities). Important Note: Please refrain from including or performing nudity or extreme profanity (noting that the audience may include young children).

Example track topics could include but not limited to:

(Please use this as a general guide to help with track selection)

Policy/Advocacy

• Decolonizing social support mechanisms to disrupt the pipeline between pregnancy and criminalization
• Medicaid reimbursement policy for doulas
• Policies that expand healthcare coverage for birth centers and at-home births
• Policy work to secure/protect/expand reproductive healthcare access

Holistic Care and Clinical Innovation

• Holistic models of birth, maternity and postpartum care
• The use of technology to create innovative solutions
• Action steps to help Black women navigate systems of care
• Integrating patient-centered telehealth/hybrid/centering models of care
• Birth justice informed training program for Black-immigrant birth workers
• Microbiome and culture maternal gut health
• Placenta Practices

Research and Evaluation

• Innovation in quality improvement to advance Birth Equity
• Measuring patient experience and/or patient outcomes within Black-led models of maternity and/or reproductive health care
• Re-envisioning data collection in Black maternal health research through Black developed frameworks and data collection tools
• Study on experiences of autoimmune diseases among Black women and their reproductive health outcomes
• Evaluation of innovative models of care or programs to advance maternal health equity

Culture Shift

• Utilizing podcasts/content or digital medias organizing and educational tools to amplify the stories, landscape and lived experience of Black Mamas/birthing people
• Exploring how to root Black birth in healing and liberation and moving the Black parenthood experience from surviving to thriving
• Demonstrating how storytelling can be used to drive culture change in Black Maternal Health
• Explore collaborations between communities, institutions, and creative sectors that dismantle bias, reduce stigma, and build equitable pathways to care.
• Illustrate how cultural work—ritual, spirituality, music, fashion, or community practice—serves as a catalyst for policy change, innovation, and care redesign.

Expressive Arts

• Document or reimagine Black birthing stories through personal or collective visual archives
• Examine joy, grief, and resilience in the reproductive journey
• Visualize reproductive justice, resistance, and systemic inequities
• Honor ancestral wisdom, motherhood, and survival
• Utilize multimedia and mixed media approaches to center Black maternal and reproductive experiences
• Offer performative reckonings with the medical system, community care, and healing
• Amplify intergenerational narratives of love, loss, and renewal

Presentation Types

Abstracts are accepted in the following categories. To learn more about what's expected for each category, please continue to read below. Please select the session type that BEST fits your proposal.

Note: The Abstract Review Team reserves the right to adjust your session type & track as needed to best fit the goals and structure of the conference.