M-A grad Brittany Margot’s textile quilt selected to be permanent part of hospital maternity ward

After graduating from Menlo-Atherton High School, Brittany Margot went on to Stanford University where she majored in human biology. In her senior year she chose to do The Senior Reflection, a three-quarter course  in which life science majors undertake an “in-depth creative project that joins a compelling scientific subject with a passion for the arts.”

“TSR was just what I was looking for when I returned to campus fall quarter of my senior year,” writes Brittany on the Stanford TSR website. “I was searching for an entirely different experience than an honors thesis, a decision that I struggled with my junior year. I had been working in a lab and planning to write a thesis, but I decided against it when I realized that my heart wasn’t in it. So when I saw an email in my inbox for ‘The Senior Reflection,’ my heart skipped a beat. Could it be? A fusion of the arts and sciences… a creative project of my own design. What a concept!”

The result was a hanging textile quilt titled A Mother’s Choice showcasing the social, cultural and political environments that influence a woman’s decision to breastfeed her newborn. The quilt will be hung in the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Maternity Ward where breastfeeding education classes are taught. Brittany is currently staging a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to raise the $3,000 it will take to frame the quilt.

She explains her concept for the quilt: ” Early on, I had decided that I wanted to make a non-traditional round quilt in the image of Urie Bronfrenbrenner’s Ecological Model of Child Development, which centers the child in a series of concentric rings of social influences that affect his development. In my design, however, I would place a mother breastfeeding in the center, and all the sociocultural influences supporting or opposing her decision to breastfeed.

” I chose to divide each ring into three thematic concepts, with three iconic images to represent each theme. In the innermost ring, I visually expressed family support, neighborhood resources, and access to healthcare delivery service. In the outermost ring, I showcased the media, scientific research and innovation, and law and national policy. ”

Brittany hopes to have the funds to frame the quilt in the next three weeks. “Mark Gallagher of Atherton Fine Art is in charge of the framing,”says Brittany, who adds that he is offering to help cover the cost.

Brittany’s project dovetails nicely with her chosen career path. Where she had earlier thought she’d pursue education, she’s now decided to apply to medical school once she completes a post-bac program at San Francisco State. “I’m hoping to pursue family medicine,” she says. “I’m attracted to it as you have the whole family as your patients and there’s a big educational component.”

Photo courtesy of Margot family