#UMNMCH Student Ruby Joy Kinney (MPH 2027) wrote this reflection on how her deployment with UMN Extension’s 40 Day Project deepened her passion for perinatal health and shaped her professional goals and desires.
I began my MPH with one goal: figure out what I want to do with the knowledge I was about to gain within the Maternal Child Health Program. I aimed to diverge from what I am “supposed” to do and follow the opportunities I find deeply interesting. This small adjustment of intention and attitude has allowed me to explore work I didn’t realize I would become so passionate about: perinatal care and mental wellbeing. My Center deployment with the 40 Day Project has solidified this interest and inspired me to pursue birth and postpartum doula certification.
The 40 Day Project is a program started by the UMN Extension Department of Family Health and Wellbeing to support postpartum mental health for new foreign-born parents across Minnesota. The overall goal of the 40 Day Project is to support the mental health and wellbeing of new parents during their postpartum period, specifically in Minnesota’s Spanish and Somali Speaking communities. This support is provided through the 40 Day Project curriculum, websites, and community outreach campaigns.
The six session curriculum of the 40 Day Project provides a foundation of tools and resources to support mental wellbeing and resiliency of new parents and birthing people. The curriculum is reflected on the 40 Day website, which is available in English and Spanish (Somali language resources are found here). Communities around the world have long recognized the first 40 days after birth as an important period for a birthing person’s physical recovery, bonding with their baby, and receiving mental and emotional support. While postpartum traditions vary across cultures, many share a focus on this approximately 40-day period. At the same time, research shows the postpartum experience can extend well beyond these first weeks, lasting 12 months or more after birth.
Since January of 2026, I have supported the 40 Day Project as they transition from a planning to implementation stage of development. I have relied on my proficiency in Spanish to translate sections of their website and curriculum, developed multi-lingual promotional materials for parents and providers, and translated surveys from Spanish-language pilot programs for data analysis and program evaluation. I co-created a bi-lingual “Train the Trainer” curriculum and co-led training sessions for future facilitators of the 40 Day Project curriculum. I am currently supporting individual program facilitators in Rochester and Moorhead as they plan and implement the 40 Day Project in their primarily Somali-speaking communities. We look forward to presenting the 40 Day Project at the November 2026 MACMH’s Infant and Early Childhood Multidisciplinary Conference.
In my experience with the 40 Day Project, I dove deep into the field of perinatal mental health. What I learned in my classes like Biostatistics Literacy and MCH Monitoring and Evaluation has been reflected in my practical experience of reviewing qualitative data and planning for programmatic growth. The combination of my academic work and practical experience with the 40 Day Project has led me to seek certification as a birth and postpartum doula so I can continue to move between the theory and practice of perinatal care and mental wellbeing support.
Overall, I am thrilled to see the capacity for interdisciplinary work in the field of perinatal care, framed by my experience with the 40 Day Project as well as my work towards my MPH degree. This deployment has illuminated multiple professional paths I hope to explore while staying true to my original intention of following work I truly align with.
BIO
Ruby Joy Kinney is a second year MCH MPH Student. Ruby Joy received her BA from Barnard College of Columbia University.
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