Rose Molina
Rose L. Molina, MD, MPH is Core Faculty at Ariadne Labs and works with the BetterBirth Program and the Delivery Decisions Initiative to design, test, and spread solutions to ensure that everyone receives appropriate, safe, and respectful care during pregnancy, childbirth, and transition to parenthood with a focus on equity and social justice. Her current research focuses on addressing racial/ethnic inequities in maternal health in Greater Boston. She also leads the Safe Childbirth Checklist work at Ariadne Labs.
Dr. Molina is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. She completed the Global Women’s Health Fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and obtained a Master of Public Health in Clinical Effectiveness from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She works as a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist at The Dimock Center, a federally qualified community health center, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). She is the Faculty Director of Health Equity and the Medical Language Program at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Director of the OB-GYN Diversity, Inclusion & Advocacy Committee at BIDMC. Her advocacy work seeks to advance access to language-concordant and culturally-humble health care for all. She is a member of Physicians for Human Rights and performs asylum evaluations.

Representatives of community members, public sector organizations, and community-based organizations shared their first-hand experiences with inequities in the current system, and their cooperative effort to design an approach of more equitable care.

The Checklist should be just one part of an overall strategy to achieve high-quality maternal and neonatal care Since launching in 2015, the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist has been regarded as an important tool in closing safety gaps in maternal and neonatal care. But, as a recent commentary co-authored by Ariadne Labs’ BetterBirth Program, Jhpiego,… Continue reading New Commentary Highlights Unfinished Research Agenda for WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist

Leigh Graham, Amanda DiMeo, and Rose Molina pen a blog in JPHMP Direct to discuss their latest research published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
Maternal-newborn health leaders agree: after decades of significant global progress, it is possible to drive the changes that will be needed to finally end the preventable deaths of women and newborns in childbirth worldwide. A new Ariadne Labs report launched at betterbirth.ariadnelabs.org aims to support the global effort with unprecedented data and evidence about what… Continue reading New report: Creating a “systemness” in childbirth care can end preventable deaths of women, newborns
The Ariadne Labs BetterBirth team launched a landmark report with research findings, frontline insights, and global recommendations for improving maternal-newborn care at the 2019 Women Deliver Conference, the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women. The timing of the release of the 80-page BetterBirth Report at… Continue reading BetterBirth team brings maternal-newborn care recommendations to Women Deliver 2019
Representatives of community members, public sector organizations, and community-based organizations shared their first-hand experiences with inequities in the current system, and their cooperative effort to design an approach of more equitable care.


Commentary from the BetterBirth team published in Lancet Global Health on how the Checklist is most effective when implemented as part of a larger quality improvement initiative and calls for more research.

Published in the Journal of Global Health Reports, the BetterBirth team shares important insights about how to adapt, implement, evaluate, and sustain use of the Checklist.

The Delivery Decisions Initiative team published work in Journal of Public Health Management and Practice on using a human-centered design process to assess proposed solutions for gaps in social support services during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth.
A mixed methods study of racial/ethnic inequities in maternal health in the Greater Boston Area, through the lens of CBOs who work at the intersection of maternal health and racial equity. Published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal from our Delivery Decisions Initiative team.

An assessment of the current use of the Safe Childbirth Checklist found that it had been widely adopted and adapted to local contexts.
