New Jersey is ranked 47th in the nation for maternal deaths. It also has some of the worst racial disparities for both maternal and infant mortality. A Black mother in New Jersey is seven times more likely than a white mother to die from maternity-related complications. A Black baby is more than three times as likely to die before their first birthday than a white baby. Dr. Damali Campbell-Oparaji is an OBGYN with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and University Hospital in Newark. She’s been among the most vocal in the state for the need to fix what many call a shameful problem.
Black maternal health week: Vast disparities among Black and white mothers
Interview with Dr. Damali Campbell-Oparaji, OBGYN at University Hospital in Newark
Anchor
An Emmy award-winning journalist, Briana Vannozzi serves as the anchor for NJ Spotlight News, the newsroom of NJ PBS. She's worked in several capacities since joining the news division in 2012, as interim anchor and senior correspondent after years of general assignment reporting as a multimedia journalist. Vannozzi began her television journalism career by cutting her teeth on New Jersey State House politics for New Jersey Network News, and later as a news radio correspondent at FM News 101.9 covering crime and politics in New York City. Her work has taken her to national presidential nominating conventions, Capitol Hill, up and down the East Coast and every corner of the Garden State. She's interviewed every New Jersey governor dating back to Jon Corzine and moderated numerous political debates and forums. Her work has also earned awards from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists and the Philadelphia Press Association. A Burlington County native, she's honored to be serving and covering her home state and raising her family there.