Monica McLemore facts for kids

Monica Rose McLemore (born 1969) is an American nurse and a professor. She teaches nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. Her work focuses on making healthcare fair for everyone, especially for groups who might not always get the best medical care. She wants to end differences in healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, McLemore studied how the coronavirus affected people who were pregnant.

Early Life and Education

Monica McLemore was born early, as a preemie. This means she was born before her due date. Even though no one in her family was a doctor or nurse, she decided to become a nurse at just eight years old.

She went to The College of New Jersey to study nursing. Later, she earned a special degree in Public Health from San Francisco State University. Dr. McLemore then continued her studies at the University of California, San Francisco. There, she researched a special protein called CA-125.

Research and Career

McLemore studies how physical and mental health are connected for people in low-income communities, especially communities of color. Her research uses an idea called reproductive justice. This idea means that people who can become pregnant have the right to decide about their bodies and how they want their birth to happen.

Based on this idea, McLemore started a study called Saving Our Ladies from early births And Reducing Stress (SOLARS). This study looks at how stress, worry, and racism might affect how long pregnancies last for Black and Latina people.

McLemore was also part of the preterm birth initiative (PTBi-California). This group works to understand why babies are born early (preterm) more often to low-income women of color. PTBi-California tries to help these communities because early births can affect them more. They also work with doctors and teachers to create programs that support these groups better.

In 2020, McLemore stopped working as a clinical nurse to focus completely on her research. Her main focus became the health of Black mothers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she studied how the coronavirus affected pregnant people. She also looked into why Black Americans were more severely impacted by the virus. In an article for Scientific American, she wrote that the coronavirus should not be an excuse to forget about pregnant people.

Awards and Honours

• 2015 American College of Nurse Midwives Teaching Award
• 2015 Speaking Race to Power Fellow
• 2019 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
• 2019 Excellence in Leadership Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
• 2020 UCSF Campaign Alumni Award

Selected Publications

McLemore has written articles for well-known publications like Vice, San Francisco Chronicle, and Scientific American.