A mother who died 3 weeks after giving birth sings a lullaby, not for her orphaned daughter but to seek change in the healthcare system that failed her. Through AI, Dr. Shalon’s voice was brought back to life so she could continue raising her voice against systemic racism in healthcare as she did while alive. After analyzing over 137 hours of videos, audio clips, and voice notes provided by Dr. Shalon’s family, 5 minutes and 33 seconds of useful data were identified and fed to an algorithm to learn Dr. Shalon’s speech patterns and bring back her voice through AI. By adapting the most popular children's song on music streaming platforms, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” we harnessed the emotional power of lullabies, creating an intimate, audible experience that raises awareness, creates conversation, and pushes for a more accountable healthcare system through public visibility.

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The US has the highest maternal mortality of all industrialized countries. For Black women, the risk is 3.5 times higher. According to the CDC, 84% of maternal deaths are preventable. Dr. Shalon worked at the CDC, raising her voice against inequality in healthcare before falling victim to the systemic racism she fought against. Three weeks after giving birth, she died. But her voice lives on.

For the general population, over 7 million people were impacted by the campaign, generating a 35% increase in the relative search volume for “Black pregnancy” and a 39% increase for “Black maternal health.” For the Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Industry, Lullabye reached 39% of all US obstetricians, 55% of high-risk pregnancy doctors, and over 60% of doulas and midwives, achieving recognition by the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Preeclampsia Foundation.

A maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.” And although most of the deaths are preventable, new data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) shows a nearly 60% increase in maternal mortality rates in 2021 from 2019. Implicit bias and medical gaslighting are the main causes, and the COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic and tragic effect on already catastrophically high maternal death rates.