By Raychael Moseley/Staff Writer

As part of Women’s History Month, Missouri Valley College is offering a series of presentations to empower women on campus with the first part of the series held on March 13.

Library Director Samantha Perkins presented on the maternal mental health crisis. Some of the focuses of the presentation were systematic racism in healthcare, socioeconomic status and the lack of access to quality healthcare.

Perkins wanted to educate people on things that are often overlooked in healthcare

 “I wanted to focus on the things that I was most passionate about but also, things that I had no idea about before becoming a mother,” she said. 

The main focus was to impact students and bring light to the maternal health crisis. eLearning and Outreach Coordinator Sarah Haug spoke about what she learned. 

“I did not realize there were so many other postpartum disorders,” she said. “I thought it was only depression.”

There are actually 6 postpartum disorders that were spoken about in the series. Alex Lorenzo, an MVC Pre-Med student who attended the series stated that

 “I wanted to go because I wanted to learn more so I can help people better,” he said.

The next portion of the series is on March 18 in the Murrell Library Green Room. Grad students Glenda Gellardo and Rachel Russel will be presenting over the gender pay divide.