The Lotus Alliance is a prison doula project in Columbia, South Carolina. The project’s co-directors, Kaylin Smith and Sadie Whitehead, work in coalition with other doulas, medical students, and doctors to provide support in the Camille Graham Correctional Institution throughout pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Sadie and Kaylin were instrumental in pushing forward an anti-shackling bill […]
Category: Reproductive Health
Supporting Families Impacted by Maternal Incarceration
October 27, 2021 Amy Ard, Executive Director of Motherhood Beyond Bars and Vanessa Garrett, Reentry and Reunification Program Manager, discuss ways to provide direct services, education, and emotional support to families caring for infants of incarcerated mothers. This is the second of a four-part webinar series organized by the National University Collaborative on the Health […]
Resource: 4th Trimester Project
The 4th Trimester Project is an amazing resource for new moms. This resource aims to be inclusive of all bodies and mothers, including transgender and non-binary people. It incorporates information on many postpartum topics, such as self-care after birth, how to build a support network, caring for your child, and videos experiences from other mothers. […]
Student Spotlight Series: How Did Hannah McNamee Further her Interests in Reproductive Health and Family Support in the Dominican Republic?
This piece is part of a five part series of Student Spotlights highlighting the applied practice experience of four students in the Dominican Republic during the Summer of 2018. The other four parts of the series include an interview by Elizabeth Stanczyk and experience reflections from Shelby Panttaja, Elizabeth Stanczyk, and Keelin Roche. #UMNMCH student Hannah McNamee […]
Resource: Health Actions for Women
Health Actions for Women addresses the social factors that prevent women and girls from enjoying healthy lives. This guide offers proven strategies to help women and men facilitate community discussions and action, even in challenging settings where organizing for women’s health is difficult or dangerous. The illustrated stories and activities in this guide encourage and strengthen […]
Resource: National STD Curriculum
The University of Washington STD Prevention Training Center has created a National STD Curriculum. This free educational website is funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and part of the National Network of STD Clinical Prevention Training (NNPTC), an STD prevention initiative that partners with health departments and universities. This particular resource […]
Resource: State Strategies to Improve Health Outcomes for People Living with HIV
People living with HIV (PLWH) have the opportunity to live longer and with better health outcomes if they have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Although this treatment allows PLWH to achieve virologic suppression, multiple barriers still exist for receiving the treatment. In 2017, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) partnered with 19 states […]
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: Toolkit for Improving Perinatal Safety
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) developed the Safety Program for Perinatal Care (SPPC) toolkit in order to improve the patient safety culture of labor and delivery units, and to decrease maternal and neonatal adverse events resulting from poor communication and system failures. The SPPC is organized around three program pillars, which include teamwork […]
Resource: 2017 Minnesota Adolescent Sexual Health Report
From the Healthy Youth Development – Prevention Research Center of the University of Minnesota, this report presents adolescent health professionals with current adolescent sexual health data and statistics. Providing reports for each county in Minnesota (87 in total) assists adolescent health professionals across the state in assessing and creating action plans to address the sexual health needs of youth in Minnesota. […]
Resources: Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea
Recent developments suggest that gonorrhea may be beginning to outsmart the last recommended treatment from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Use these new CDC tools, including a video and local data profiles, to ensure your communities are aware of the emerging threat of drug-resistant gonorrhea. Bookmark CDC’s antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea page where you can find […]
Student Spotlight: How did Sara Bowman’s RAship give her hands-on qualitative and quantitative research experience?
I am a second-year graduate student earning my Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. I came to the program straight out of a bachelor’s degree, but I have had the opportunity to gain valuable experience through my involvement in the School of Public Health. I served as a member of the Community […]
Resource: Zika Virus: Protecting Pregnant Women & Babies
Zika virus infection (Zika) during pregnancy can cause damage to the brain, microcephaly, and congenital Zika syndrome, a pattern of conditions in the baby that includes brain abnormalities, eye defects, hearing loss, and limb defects. In 2016, 44 states reported cases of pregnant women with evidence of Zika. The April issue of VitalSigns from […]
Resource: Recommendations for Preventive Services for Women–Abridged Report
The Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI), a collaborative effort between health professional societies and consumer organizations that are experts in women’s health, recently released the 34-page Abridged Report, Recommendations for Preventive Services for Women. Presented by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), it was submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, […]
Student Spotlight: How did a guest lecturer help Sam Lo “land” on her area of study?
Sam Lo (MPH 2016) talks about how her background in law led to public health, and how a guest lecturer in her Foundations of MCH Leadership (PubH 6630) course created an opportunity for her to undertake important work that has direct impact on pregnant incarcerated women. With funding through HRSA, the Center for Leadership Education in MCH was able to […]