Olga Grigoryants

Olga Grigoryants is a multimedia reporter with the Los Angeles Daily News. She covers business, environment and urban development. She also supports the paper in its watchdog role to hold San Fernando Valley power players accountable and loves digging for public records. She speaks Russian and after studying writing in Moscow, she moved to Los Angeles in 2007 and has called it home ever since. She earned her master’s degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and has published articles with Reuters, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Business Journal. Along the way, she picked up awards from the Los Angeles Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists and Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Articles

Aysha-Samon Stokes rests in the birthing bath at Kindred Space LA’s South LA birthing center on Mother’s Day, 2021.

For series on midwives and home births, being there made all the difference

For series on home births, a reporter recounts how she overcame a key challenge: "I felt I was missing the voices of people I was writing about, the women who opted for home birth."

Nicole Taylor sits on the bed where she gave birth to her daughter Lily weeks after being infected with COVID-19

Health Equity & Social Justice

Children & Families

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Community & Public Health

Pregnant during pandemic: Expectant mothers remain at high risk of COVID-19

UCLA study answers some of the questions expectant mothers have had since early in the pandemic, when so much was unknown.

Poverty and Class

Women's and Maternal Health

Patient Safety and Ethics

Tameka Issartel and her daughter Nalani, 5, laugh with Tenshin, 7 months, in their El Sereno living room

Health Equity & Social Justice

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Mental Health & Trauma

Pregnant during pandemic: COVID-19 fears fuel increased interest in home births

More women have been opting for home birth as hospitals postponed or moved most of their health care online due to COVID-19.

Race and Equity

Poverty and Class

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Mental Health

Birth centers grow in popularity, but owners say it’s difficult to qualify for state license

"There are systems in place in California that make it almost impossible to have a birth center. It’s like a never-ending cycle," said one midwife.

Midwife Racha Tahani Lawler sits in the space in her garden on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 where she meets with women.

Health Equity & Social Justice

Children & Families

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Mental Health & Trauma

Pregnant during Pandemic: Black midwives in demand; are there enough to handle influx of clients?

About 2% of the country’s 15,000 licensed midwives are Black. In Southern California, there are about 120 licensed midwives, but only seven of them are Black.

Race and Equity

Poverty and Class

Women's and Maternal Health

Health Insurance and Costs

Mental Health

Dennis touches their son as Aysha rests in the birthing bath at Kindred Space LA’s South LA birthing center on Mother’s Day nigh

Health Equity & Social Justice

Children & Families

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Mental Health & Trauma

Pregnant during pandemic: Programs, midwives step up to support Black mothers

Many of LA County’s programs focus on addressing the consequences of intergenerational racism on the health of Black women.

Race and Equity

Poverty and Class

Women's and Maternal Health

Health Insurance and Costs

Mental Health

Patient Safety and Ethics

Women from underserved neighborhoods find birth plans upended by pandemic

In interviews with midwives and doulas, they say more of their clients are struggling with isolation, limited access to health care, fear of exposure to the virus at hospitals.

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Olga Grigoryants

Articles

For series on midwives and home births, being there made all the difference

Pregnant during pandemic: Expectant mothers remain at high risk of COVID-19

Pregnant during pandemic: COVID-19 fears fuel increased interest in home births

Birth centers grow in popularity, but owners say it’s difficult to qualify for state license

Pregnant during Pandemic: Black midwives in demand; are there enough to handle influx of clients?

Pregnant during pandemic: Programs, midwives step up to support Black mothers

Women from underserved neighborhoods find birth plans upended by pandemic