Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew

06/04/2026

Pass this along. What a great opportunity.

Sharing a great opportunity for emerging music creators. 🎧 The BMI Foundation’s Babyface Award supports emerging songwriters and composers ages 18–29 working across R&B, hip-hop, soul, and music rooted in the African diaspora. Inspired by Babyface: legendary songwriter, producer, and co-found...

06/01/2026

Sharing

There is a quiet, often unspoken transition that happens in the pursuit of "perfection." It begins as self-care, a way to feel refreshed or more like ourselves, but in an industry that thrives on the "endless fix," it can slowly turn into a cycle of self-erasure. When we start chasing every line and...

06/01/2026

The maternal health crisis won't be solved by quiet conversations. It requires strategic, systemic change.

As a physician, educator, and policy expert with degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and California State University, Long Beach, alongside executive training from Northwestern University, the Wharton School, and the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program, I have spent decades on the front lines delivering OB/GYN care through a culturally competent lens. My focus is entirely directed toward bridging the gap between clinical excellence, cultural humility, and community advocacy that protects mothers and children.

My speaking calendar is officially open for paid keynotes, panel discussions, and executive workshops focusing strictly on maternal health equity and child wellness. I also provide strategic planning consultations, as well as program creation and implementation strategy.

If your organization is in need of an authoritative corporate, academic, and clinical voice to drive future growth and productivity, let’s connect. Reach out directly to my Executive Administrator at [email protected] to discuss booking availability.

05/29/2026

I didn’t write The Colors of My Heart just to tell my story; I wrote it for the women who are tired of being the only ones in the room.

This book is for the "fixers" who have spent their lives architecting everyone else's success while navigating their own private storms. It’s for the leaders who know that a C-suite title doesn’t magically erase the complexities of family, heritage, or the "red flags" we face at home.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re leading with a "Nursing Heart" in a world that only values the bottom line, these chapters were written for you. I’m sharing the blueprint of how I moved from survival to strategy, and how you can do the same.

Secure your copy: https://bit.ly/4di2oey

05/25/2026

We often say "it takes a village," but we’ve spent the last fifty years dismantling that village and replacing it with individual checklists.

In the modern healthcare landscape, we’ve prioritized clinical data points while losing the communal architecture that once sustained us. This Maternal Mental Health Month, I’m calling for a return to a systemic "village" model. True advocacy moves the conversation from "self-care," which places the entire burden on the individual, to "community care," which integrates support into the very fabric of our lives.

The data is clear: clinical outcomes improve when mothers have peer-to-peer support that understands their specific cultural heritage. This is the heart of concepts like the "Motivational Mums Club." When a mother is surrounded by a village that reflects her own experiences, her mental health isn't just a box to check; it is a shared priority.

Building this architecture in 2026 means moving beyond the clinic walls. It means fostering spaces where cultural wisdom and peer support are treated as essential medical necessities.

05/22/2026

THE EBONY CANAL WINS BIG IN CANNES! 🏆✨

We are officially bringing home three Cannes awards:

▪️ Best Documentary
▪️ Best First-Time Director
▪️ Best Cinematic Editing

Speechless is an understatement. I am beyond proud of Larissa Lane, Mariah Peoples, Alana Yzola-Daly, and Rachel L. Strader for their incredible ex*****on. This is exactly how we continue to amplify the journey, the joy, and the global movement around maternal health.

Everything is aligning exactly the way it's supposed to, and it’s all thanks to the love and support of communities just like yours.

We did it. 🖤

05/22/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it is time to move the conversation beyond "self-care" and into the realm of Clinical Empathy.

We often treat mental health as a secondary luxury, but for women is the very foundation of survival. In our community, the "Strong Black Woman" trope has historically been used as a shield, but it has also acted as a silencer. We have mastered the art of carrying the village’s weight while neglecting the heavy silence in our own minds.

True health equity is impossible without mental health parity. Whether we are discussing the boardroom or the birth bedside, we must recognize that psychological safety is a prerequisite for physical wellness. Advocacy means creating systems where seeking help isn't seen as a "breakdown," but as a strategic investment in our longevity.

This month, let’s audit the environments we inhabit. Do they support our peace, or do they demand our exhaustion? Protecting your mental health is a radical act of leadership and a necessary step in securing your legacy.

05/20/2026

This report from Health Policy Watch is a stark reminder of the fragile state of global progress. At a time when women’s rights are faltering worldwide, seeing a shift toward weakening international support for gender equality is deeply concerning.

Advocacy isn't a one-time event; it is a constant defense of the foundation we’ve built. When global standards for health equity and agency are diluted, the impact is felt most acutely by the most vulnerable among us. We cannot afford to move backward on the protections that ensure a mother’s safety or a woman’s right to determine her own future.

True leadership requires us to stand firm on the principle that gender equality is not a "negotiable" luxury. It is a fundamental requirement for a stable society and a thriving economy. Whether we are in a boardroom or a community clinic, we must continue to demand that policy reflects our humanity and protects our progress.

The work of securing our legacy is global. We must stay vigilant and ensure that our voices are heard in every space where these decisions are made.

05/18/2026

The World Economic Forum report highlights a $1 trillion "Women’s Health Gap" that exists not because of biology, but because of a lack of targeted investment and data.
Women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health than men. When we look at these numbers through the lens of Black maternal health, the gap becomes even more stark. We are dealing with a legacy of being overlooked in the data sets that dictate our care.

Closing this gap offers a massive "Legacy Dividend." When women’s health is prioritized, families are stronger and communities are more resilient. It is time to move the conversation from awareness to action, ensuring the boardroom allocations finally meet the reality of the women navigating the system.

Read the full report: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/03/womens-health-in-numbers/