ARLINGTON, Va. (WDVM) — The Arlington-based Jennifer Bush-Lawson Foundation, awarded their first-ever pre-natal innovation prize to Children’s National Hospital.

“Our job here at Children’s National and partnering with the Bush Lawson foundation is to help strengthen giving them women access to the incredible tools that we have,” said Toni Verstandig, the Chair of Children’s Hospital Foundation Board.

The award will be used to support research to improve mental health in pregnancy for low-income black women in the tri-state area. With black women in Virginia dying at three times the rate of any other race during childbirth, Dr. Catherine Limperopoulos – the award recipient – says this research award will be an important first step to changing that statistic.

“Once we begin to really identify in a culturally sensitive way what the specific obstacles are in our community, we will then be able to upscale the project and begin to place targeted interventions throughout the community,” Limperopoulos said.