Communities nationwide are experiencing infant formula shortages after a large recall in February. This shortage has left many parents and caregivers concerned about how they will feed their babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has created a tip sheet for caregivers struggling to find formula for infants or medically fragile children. Key information from […]
Category: Infant Mortality
Resource: Steps to Help A Baby Sleep Safely
Want to learn how you can reduce the risk of sleep-related death for babies? The CDC published these four steps to help babies sleep safely: Always place your baby on their back while sleeping (naps included). Use a firm, flat sleep surface covered only by a fitted sheet. Place your baby’s sleep area in the same […]
Resource: March of Dimes IMPLICIT Interconception Care Toolkit
March of Dimes works to support healthy mothers and families throughout communities. In collaboration with the Family Medicine Education Consortium, the organization has launched the IMPLICIT (Interventions to Minimize Preterm and Low Birthweight Infants Using Continuous Improvement) Toolkit. The Toolkit focuses on interconception care (ICC) and is aimed to be used by medical and/or public […]
Resource: National Performance Measure 5 Safe Sleep–Evidence Review Brief and Full Report
Safe Sleep is one of fifteen MCH National Performance Measures (NPMs) for the State Title V Block Grant program. The goal is to increase the number of infants placed to sleep on their backs. Infant sleep position is a serious public health concern as it is strongly related to sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), including […]
Resource: Star Legacy Foundation–Pregnancy and Infant Loss Resources
Every year, October 15th is recognized as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. It is on this day, and always we are thankful for organizations such as the Star Legacy Foundation. The Star Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to reducing pregnancy loss and neonatal death and improving care for families who experience such […]
Partners in Health Co-Founders Release New Book on Global Health
Partners in Health (PIH) co-founders Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Jim Yong Kim have edited a book entitled Reimagining Global Health. This book employs an interdisciplinary approach to global health and can be useful to f public health, nursing, medicine, anthropology, history, and sociology professionals and students. Drawing from years of experience in the field, […]
Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines Dissemination Toolkit
More people are overweight in the United States today than ever before. More than 2 out of every 3 adults are overweight or obese. And more than half of women in their childbearing years (ages 12-44) are overweight or obese. How much weight the mother gains (or not) over a pregnancy is important for the […]
Overview of Perinatal Periods of Risk Analytic Methods
The PowerPoint presentation, sponsored by CityMatch, March of Dimes and the CDC, provides a brief introduction about how Perinatal Periods of Risk (PPOR) analysis works and how it helps communities prioritize infant mortality reduction efforts based on data. As described by the sponsors, “PPOR provides structure, strategies, and specific analytic methods for analyzing vital records […]
Strong Foundations: Minnesota’s Birth to Three Institute for Healthy Development
The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, the Center for Early Education and Development, the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Education are excited to sponsor Strong Foundations: Minnesota’s Birth to Three Institute for Healthy Development. The purpose of this institute is […]
Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait
The March of Dimes has initiated a new project called Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait (HBWW). This public health campaign strives to prevent factors related to preterm birth, including social, medical and biological influences. Children born prematurely are more likely to have vision and hearing problems, lasting physical and mental disabilities, and learning delays […]
MAMA: Motherhood Around the Globe
An online exhibition of global art, voices, and ideas, MAMA: Motherhood around the Globe is an inspiring community for anyone who is a mother, knows one, or works with one (that’s all of you!). Housed through the International Museum of Women, the website includes videos, facts, and figures promoting healthy moms and its significance with […]
Controversy over Co-Sleeping: A PubH Campaign
A controversial public health campaign coming from Milwaukee targets infant and caregiver bed sharing. 20% of Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate is attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Death in Infancy (SUDI); it is the 7th worst in the country, with also large disparity rates (Black infant mortality rates are almost 3 […]
MCH Call to Action: Child Abuse
Child abuse and maltreatment is a silent and hidden morbidity and mortality issue today. A new report has shed light on this taboo subject, the dramatic statistics we have compared to other countries and the difference domestically between states. Currently, the child maltreatment death rate is 11 times higher than Italy’s and 3 times higher […]
The ACA and U.S. Neonatal Mortality Rate
In light of the recent ambiguous rulings toward the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. Circuit Courts, this contributor decided to write about implications for Maternal and Child Health. Neonatal mortality, defined as deaths <28 days of age per 1,000 live births, is the focus of a study published in August by […]
Reflections on an MCH Field Experience
My experience at the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Division of Research, Training and Education (DRTE) this summer was a period of valuable growth. As a Maternal and Child Health Masters in Public Health (MPH) trainee, I am interested in policy and macro level work, in for example, advocating for increased funding in preventative […]