IMPACT Preterm Birth Disparities Award





The Foundation for SMFM recognizes the existence of significant disparities among preterm labor, preterm birth, and birth outcomes in underserved populations. The effects of social determinants of health, systemic racism, and reproductive healthcare accessibility all interface with the risk and outcomes around preterm birth. This grant award aims to enable studies to IMPACT these outcome disparities among historically underserved communities. The award will provide funding to enhance existing research among these communities or to develop new investigations and investigators focused on promising interventions to eliminate disparities within these communities.

IMPACT Award Recipient

2025
Sarahn Wheeler, MD, MHSc

"REDUCing the Disproportionate RatE of Preterm Birth in non-Hispanic Blacks through a Culturally Relevant Intervention during the Inter-pregnancy Period: REDUCE PTB"

Dr. Sarahn Wheeler is currently a practicing maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Duke University Medical Center, and is the inaugural recipient of the IMPACT Preterm Birth Disparities Award.