BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board

The Society was established in 1977 to give maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) physicians and scientists a place to share knowledge, research, and clinical best practices in order to improve care for moms and babies.

Maternal-fetal physicians are obstetricians with extra training in the area of high-risk, complicated pregnancies. We specialize in treating the nonroutine. Because of our additional training, we're involved in the latest advancements in maternal and fetal care.

Each year we host The Pregnancy Meeting, where more than 2,000 MFM physicians and researchers gather to share new clinical strategies and research. Our members also offer continuing education courses around the world.

Visit the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's websiteOpens a new window for more information.

Hearing First is a subsidiary of the Oberkotter Foundation, a private foundation supporting opportunities for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to learn to listen and talk for over 35 years. Because we've met the babies and talked with their families; watched them grow up and make friends in mainstream schools; and seen them succeed, we know that Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) is possible for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Hearing First is driven by a multidisciplinary team of pediatric audiologists, otologists, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, and teachers of the deaf, combining decades of experience and expertise to provide accurate evidence-based information in the treatment of childhood deafness and hearing loss.

We're here for families when they need information, a resource, a connection with another family, or simply to learn what to do next should their baby fail their hearing screening or is diagnosed with hearing loss. We reach families through our online community, our social platforms and, importantly, the professionals in their lives. Hearing First resources and learning experiences are available to the public at no cost.

Learn more about Hearing First, LSL, and how children who are deaf or hard of hearing are learning to listen and talk at hearingfirst.orgOpens a new window.

American Urogynecologic Society

Founded in 1979, the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) is the leading nonprofit organization for health care professionals dedicated to treating people with pelvic floor disorders. These specialists have additional training in the vast area of pelvic floor health, which includes prolapse and incontinence. AUGS represents more than 2,000 members, including practicing physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, and researchers from many disciplines.

Visit the AUGS websiteOpens a new window, and also see their patient-related materials on Voices For PFDOpens a new window, for more information.

Black Women Birthing Justice

Black Women Birthing Justice (BWBJ) is an Oakland-based grassroots collective of African American, African, Caribbean and multiracial women. Founded in 2011, it is committed to transforming birthing experiences for Black women and transgender people.

In research titled "Battling Over Birth, Black Women and the Maternal Health Care Crisis," BWBJ found by talking with Black birthing people that they are disappointed with the care they receive from their healthcare providers, who are predominantly white or dominant-culture centered.

From the lessons learned from the research, members of BWBJ provide information that Black families can use to find culturally competent care during the prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum periods.

Jane van Dis, M.D. – inpatient obstetrics and gynecology, clinical faculty and assistant professor at the University of Rochester

Layan Alrahmani, M.D. – maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota

Cheryl Axelrod, M.D. – obgyn practicing at Midwest Center for Women's Healthcare in Skokie, Illinois

Rae Cherng, M.D., FACOG – attending physician for the ob-gyn residency program at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California

Jacqueline Dela Merced, M.D. – ob-gyn in private practice in Greenbrae, California

Emily Holthaus, M.D. – ob-gyn specializing in high-risk pregnancies

Emily Hu, M.D., FACOG – ob-gyn in private practice in Daly City, California and clinical faculty member at University of California, San Francisco

Lizellen La Follette, M.D. – ob-gyn in private practice in Greenbrae, California

Sheri Puffer, M.D., FACOG – ob-gyn in private practice in Arlington, Texas

Prathima Setty, M.D. – ob-gyn at Loudoun Community Health Center in Leesburg, Virginia

Amanda Williams, M.D.,M.P.H. – ob-gyn at Kaiser Permanente East Bay in Oakland, California

Rebecca Yee, M.D. – ob-gyn and clinical instructor at the University of California, San Francisco

Sasha Hakman, M.D. – ob-gyn and reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at IVF Phoenix in Arizona

Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, M.D. – ob-gyn and reproductive endocrinology and infertility expert at Fertility Centers of Illinois

Edward Marut, M.D. - ob-gyn and reproductive endocrinology and infertility expert at Fertility Centers of Illinois

Anthony M. Propst., M.D. – reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist, Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas

Judith M. Venuti, Ph.D. – embryologist, professor emeritus, and former chair of the Department of Foundational Medical Studies at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, Michigan

David J. Wlody, M.D. – chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, New York

Erin Zenilman, M.D. – pediatric anesthesiologist, Maryland

Gerald G. Briggs, BPharm – pharmacist clinical specialist, Women's Hospital, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Long Beach, California

Talita Oseguera, CNM, MSN – certified nurse midwife and full-spectrum doula in the San Francisco Bay Area

Sally Urang, R.N., CNM, M.S. – midwife and obstetrical safety nurse in New York City

Mandy Major – certified postpartum doula PCD (DONA), founder of Major Care

Miosha McDaniel – full-spectrum, community-based doula

Linda Jones – birth and postpartum doula in Oakland, CA

Leslie Owens, RN, IBCLC – registered nurse and international board-certified lactation consultant in the Atlanta area

Courtney Olson, MS, CC-SLP, IBCLC – lactation consultant and infant eating specialist 

Julie Hawksley, R.N., IBCLC – postpartum nurse and lactation consultant at Kaiser Permanente, and founder of Call the LC, an independent lactation consultant service in San Francisco

Monica Murphy, RNC, IBCLC – inpatient lactation consultant in San Francisco

Zakiyah Williams, MPH, IBCLC – lactation services manager at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA

Kathleen Berchelmann, M.D. – pediatric hospitalist at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT and the founder of a faith-based virtual care/telehealth practice, MyCatholicDoctor

Phil Boucher, M.D. – developmental pediatrician and parenting blogger in Lincoln, Nebraska

Chandani DeZure, M.D., FAAP – neonatal and pediatric hospitalist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA

Dina DiMaggio, M.D. – pediatrician at Pediatric Associates of NYC and NYU Langone Health

Liz Donner, M.D. – pediatric hospitalist and assistant clinical professor at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, Florida

Shawnté James, M.D. – newborn hospitalist in Washington, DC, and assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine

Jodi Mindell, Ph.D. – pediatric sleep expert and associate director of the sleep center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Kathryn Meier, M.D. – pediatrician in private practice, San Francisco

K. T. Park, M.D., M.S. – pediatric gastroenterologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA

Anthony Porto, M.D., MPH, FAAP – director of pediatric gastroenterology at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, CT

Dawn Rosenberg, M.D. – pediatrician in private practice, San Francisco

Jennifer Shu, M.D., FAAP – pediatrician at Children's Medical Group, Atlanta, and author of Baby & Child Health: An Essential Guide From Birth to 11 Years

Paul Young, M.D. – professor of pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City

Kate Shand, PA, IBCLC – physician assistant and lactation consultant working in outpatient pediatrics in Rochester, New York

Hailey Nelson, M.D., IBCLC – complex primary care physician and lactation consultant, Valley Children's Healthcare, Madera, California

Sarah Gard Lazarus, D.O. – pediatric emergency medicine physician with Pediatric Emergency Medicine Associates in Atlanta, Georgia

C. Anthoney Lim, M.D. director of pediatric emergency medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System and medical director of the pediatric emergency department and short stay unit at Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Darria Long, M.D. – emergency physician

Funke Afolabi-Brown, M.D. – pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine physician

Kelley Abrams, Ph.D. – developmental psychologist in private practice in California

Catherine Cram, M.S. – exercise physiologist and maternal fitness specialist; owner of the consulting company Comprehensive Fitness Consulting, LLC

Erin Hinga, M.S., R.D. – registered dietitian specializing in adolescent nutrition and family well-being

Samantha Schleiger, MS, RDN, CD, CLT – integrative registered dietitian nutritionist; owner of Simply Nourished, a private practice

Denise Fisher, DDS – pediatric dentist on staff at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates Illinois

Hyewon Lee, DrPH, DMD – pediatric dentist and assistant professor at Seoul National University in South Korea

Patricia Treadwell, M.D. – professor emeritus of pediatrics and dermatology at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis

Teresa Wright, M.D. – pediatric dermatologist in Memphis, Tennessee

Juli Fraga, Psy.D. – licensed psychologist in San Francisco specializing in the emotional challenges of postpartum depression, fertility and family planning, and body image issues

Cara Goodwin, Ph.D. – clinical psychologist specializing in translating scientific research for everyday parents

Sipra Laddha, M.D. – perinatal psychiatrist specializing in women's mental health

Nicole Taylor, M.D. – perinatal psychiatrist in Florida

Frances Verter, Ph.D. – founder and director of the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity and educational resource