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The PREM-OB Scale® Suite is the proprietary material developed and owned by Dr Karen A. Scott, MD, MPH, FACOG, the Chief Black Feminist Physician Scientist, Founding CEO, & Owner of Birthing Cultural Rigor, LLC (BCR).

Dr. Scott founded BCR as a living act of resistance against the current standards of provision of obstetrics care in hospital settings AND traditional standards of designing and implementing quality improvement and implementation initiatives. Our primary objective is to build community and hospital capacity and capability to recognize and respond to the phenomenon of obstetric racism as Black women, girls, and gender expansive people seek help or health care in hospital settings for any pregnancy-related condition, with a focus on hospital labor, birth, and immediate postpartum.

BCR offers a measurement, monitoring, and accountability program to provide institutions that complete BCR training and certification in recognizing and mitigating obstetric racism. We also provide varied levels of data accessibility and technical assistance in data interpretation, synthesis, utilization, and dissemination in our multi-tiered licensure program.

Currently, Dr. Scott only permits utilization of our BCR tools, trainings, and techniques, including the PREM-OB Scale® Suite, in quality improvement and implementation science, practice, and research programs, and not for the exclusive purpose of knowledge construction in traditional research studies.

Likewise, Dr. Scott made the decision not to publish The PREM-OB Scale® Suite given the general lack of knowledge, understanding, acceptance, and uptake of obstetric racism as the leading driver of the persistent and worsening death and dying gap between Black and non-Black mothers and birthing communities.

For ethical reasons, Dr. Scott created these processes and procedures to protect the integrity and humanity of Black women, girls, and gender expansive people involved in this work AND to maintain fidelity to the design and utilities of The PREM-OB Scale® Suite, while focusing on implementation, spread, and scale of BCR proprietary products and services.

Dr. Scott’s proprietary work is not used for knowledge construction in traditional research settings, teams, or programs, which usually focuses on publication for the advancement and promotion of individual research scholars. Traditional research aims and findings do not usually translate into meaningful benefits and sustainable impacts for communities of Black birthing people, Black birth workers, and Black birth scholars and activists.

With Dr Scott’s leadership, BCR prioritizes consultations and/or collaborations with Black women-led community organizations in partnership with health plans, legal studies scholars, state perinatal quality collaboratives, public health departments, safety-net hospitals, community hospitals, and academic centers.