Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu

Mar 17, 2024 | statnews.com | Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu

I was recently working with a young mother who struggled with depression and anxiety in the difficult year following the birth of her child. In addition to managing the herculean task of adjusting to motherhood, she had trouble coping with her baby’s complex medical needs. While I explained to her the importance of tending to her mental health and the connection between parental well-being and healthy child development, she burst out crying. “I feel so guilty,” she sobbed.

Oct 24, 2023 | statnews.com | Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu

I was sitting in my car around 4 p.m. on a Friday, waiting in the parking lot to be called in for my pre-delivery Covid test. I was equally exhausted from the physical demands of my second pregnancy and the emotional labor of typing up my loose ends at work with hundreds of patients. That’s when I received an email from an administrator at the hospital where I worked.

Aug 23, 2023 | statnews.com | Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu

In Igbo-Nigerian culture, new moms receive exquisite care from their own mothers, mothers-in-law, or surrogate mothers for the first few months postpartum. After each of my daughters was born, I was blessed to participate in this tradition, called omugwo, which allowed me to be nurtured by the mothers who came before me. They cooked and cleaned. Massaged my belly and taught me how to breastfeed. They took care of my newborn overnight. These women were my village.

Aug 23, 2023 | scribd.com | Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu

Krystal Cascetta, Lindsay Clancy, and the impossibility of being a mom in American medicine Medical professionals often find it very difficult to seek medical care for themselves. Save for Later Save Krystal Cascetta, Lindsay Clancy, And The Impossibility Of Being A Mom In American Medicine For LaterIn Igbo-Nigerian culture, new moms receive exquisite care from their own mothers, mothers-in-law, or surrogate mothers for the first few months postpartum. After

Aug 1, 2023 | statnews.com | Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu

I should be irate and despondent about the Supreme Court’s scrapping of affirmative action in admissions. It’s several steps backward. And yet, I have mixed emotions about the practice, informed by my own experiences with affirmative action. By increasing the number of Black doctors, affirmative action has also been instrumental in reducing health inequity for disadvantaged communities throughout this country.