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QMNC NEWSLETTER — December 2023

Don’t Miss This Calabash Cafe

What does Injera, an Ethiopian sourdough flatbread, have to do with advocating for gender justice across national boundaries and collaborating with women locally, regionally, and globally? Join the next Calabash Cafe for a fascinating, perspective-expanding answer. Micknai Arefaine (our usual Calabash Cafe host), will introduce the indigenous Ethiopian feminist framework of Injera Epistemology, an approach that de-centers hegemonic Western epistemologies and ontology and centers the practices and perspectives of women and non-men closest to the problems and the solutions. Based on her work in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia, Micknai will share how Injera Epistemology can serve as a powerful way to implement decolonized methodological approaches when conducting studies with vulnerable populations, specifically women and non-men. A group discussion will follow the presentation and all attendees are encouraged to share their experiences, goals, and perspectives. QMNC co-chair Melissa Cheyney will serve as guest moderator. Registration is free for QMNC members.

Not a member? Join for free today.

Spread the Word

Please use your connections to spread the word about this event. A media toolkit will be coming shortly — watch here for details.

November Calabash Cafe Draws Global Engagement

Did you join in for our last Calabash Cafe? Participants from countries around the world viewed the film Milk: Born Into This World and engaged in an in-depth discussion of the impact of climate change and climate crisis on maternal and newborn experiences. We held two events to facilitate participation from different time zones, and the film was screened in Chinese, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese. And, speakers Brooke Bauer, Hirut Melaku, and Milk filmmaker Naomi Weis joined our conversations afterward! In case you missed it, recordings of the events have been made available on the platform and additional content shared by guest speaker Brooke Bauer is available in this discussion thread.

Calabash Cafe Ideas Welcomed

Do you have an idea for a future Calabash Cafe? We’d love to hear it!

Social Media Survey Awaits Your Input

Love a certain social media platform? (Hate a certain social media platform?) Your voice matters! QMNC is currently choosing which social media platforms to engage with in the coming year. Make sure the platforms you use most are the ones chosen.

Fill out the online survey and tell us which platforms you want to use to connect with QMNC and birth colleagues around the world.

Current Projects Underway; Participation Encouraged

We have six exciting projects going forward with the assistance of the QMNC Fellows.

Project 1: QMNC Index, Second Phase Study

The project to validate the QMNC Index is making progress, with target numbers of participants being reached in many countries.

Project 2: QMNC Priority 3 Registry

Getting started this month, this project will pull together all existing metrics relevant to QMNC research priorities, identify needs for new metrics, and make this information available on the website.

Project 3: Scoping Review

This review asks the questions, “How is epistemic injustice in SRMNC research produced, upheld, and perpetuated? What strategies can be used to promote research justice in the field of SRMNC research?” It is well underway, and the 200 articles identified in the preliminary search are being evaluated and narrowed down. This project will also generate  an equity statement for QMNC to promote, generate, and translate knowledge that enables women and childbearing families to survive, thrive, and transform, while unsettling current systems of epistemic injustice in SRMNC research. The first draft of the paper and the equity statement are targeted for the first six months of 2024.

Project 4: Community-Led Metric Study

This project will identify best practices for community-led metrics for publication as a commentary. It will launch in January 2024.

Project 5: Writing Mentorship Group

Leaders on this project are working on ways to gather data on members’ demographics, current research projects, QMNC priority alignment, methodology, and whether they would like to serve as a mentor or mentee, with the goal of creating matches based on interest, methodology, and level of publications experience. A paper on the Listening Campaign and a Strategic Plan update is also underway.

Project 6: Ten Year Anniversary

To mark the 10-year anniversary of the Lancet series, this project is asking, “How has the QMNC framework been operationalized cross-culturally over the last decade?” Project leads have met several times and are developing ideas for a scoping review, a bibliometric analysis, and a commentary.

Get Involved! Projects Seeking Participants

Does one of these projects align with your interests and experience? Reach out and join!

Platform Tips and Tricks

Update your profile and cover photos so people can put a face to the name, and learn more about you. We love how member Kaveri Mayra has used the platform’s feature of offering a cover photo to draw attention to their #MidwiferyMisfits survey — look here for inspiration! Not sure how to do this? Check out the user guide discussion, and if you would like to learn how to do something on the platform, just let us know and we’ll update the guide!

QMNC Member News

Do you have news to share with the QMNC community? Please reach out to our community manager, Jodine Chase. She is happy to help explore ways to connect you with other QMNC members, including through our updated online platform. Reach Jodine at chase.jodinechase@gmail.com or by private message (PM) on the platform.

We look forward to connecting with you soon.

Warmly,

The team at QMNC