Tagged With "early births"
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2020 Sex and Perinatal Mental Health Conference
Sex & Perinatal Mental Health Conference on January 13th and 14th, 2020 at The California Endowment. This dynamic training will delve into areas such as postpartum sex, birth trauma, cultural attitudes about sex, gender and sexuality, gender affirming care, personal stories and more. We have an amazing lineup of speakers and wanted to introduce you to a few over the next couple of weeks. Two day training that will explore how sex and sexuality impact and interact with mental health...
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71 ACEs Initiatives Join ACEs Connection in 2019
We are proud to celebrate the 71 community initiatives that joined the ACEs Connection network in 2019. They are listed below, and can be found along with all existing ACEs Connection communities via the ACEs Connection map. Communities in the United States: Midwest ACEs Indiana Coalition Ardmore (OK) Behavioral Health Collaborative: BOUNCE - Jefferson County (KY Chisago County (MN) ACEs Initiative Franciscan Health ACEs Connection FH–Jasper & Newton Counties (IN ) FH–LaPorte County (IN)...
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A Chaotic Week for Pregnant Women in New York City (The New Yorker)
By Emily Bobrow, April 1, 2020, for The New Yorker Early on Sunday, March 22nd, Lauren Pelz got a text from a friend who’d heard that the NewYork-Presbyterian (N.Y.P.) hospital network had decided to bar partners from accompanying women in labor, due to concerns about the spread of covid -19 . It was the day before Pelz was scheduled to be induced to deliver her second child at N.Y.P. Lower Manhattan Hospital. She searched the hospital’s Web site and Twitter feed for news about the change in...
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A community-based approach to supporting substance exposed newborns and their families
This information brief highlights a community-based approach to supporting families and newborns affected by substance use. MA EfC developed this brief to address the profound intersection between the Massachusetts opioid crisis, Federal mandates for the development of Plans of Safe Care for substance exposed newborns, and, the MA EfC focus on increasing social connectedness as a means to reduce child maltreatment.
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AMAR Doula Program Celebrates Its First Graduating Class (The Burke Foundation)
Community Updates, December 19, 2019 With the support of the Burke Foundation, in early 2019 the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey (CHSofNJ) launched AMAR, a community-based doula program , to improve prenatal, labor, and postpartum support for Hispanic women in the City of Trenton. Now, the organization is thrilled to see the first group of trainees graduate from the program. New Jersey has the fifth highest maternal mortality rate in the country. To address this significant challenge...
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‘Becoming a mother broke me’: For a woman collecting pandemic postpartum stories, the work is personal (Washington Post)
By Theresa Vargas, March 25, 2020, Washington Post Ariane Audet grows quiet on the phone. She is usually the one posing questions about motherhood, and now, she’s not sure how to answer one I’ve asked her. What do you think would have happened if you had to give birth now? She stays silent for so long that I glance at my phone’s screen to make sure we didn’t get disconnected. “I’m afraid to say it,” she finally says. “But I don’t know if I would still be alive.” Three years ago, Audet gave...
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Birth Equity Resources [CMQCC]
The resources listed below can be on THIS WEBSITE Copied from the website linked above: The following list of resources has been aggregated for those interested in learning more about birth equity . We strongly recommend reading multiple resources to get a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity and breadth of this initiative. We will be highlighting a new set of “top three” publications quarterly to encourage continued learning. Featured Publications: The US medical system is...
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Birth in a pandemic: 'You are stronger than you think' (BBC News)
By Kirstie Brewer, April 1, 2020 for BBC News The coronavirus crisis is throwing many pregnant women's birth plans up in the air and leading some health trusts to increase home births. The image captured hearts on social media 10 days ago. Faolán, Gaelic for "little wolf", was born in Drogheda in Ireland on Saturday 14 March and a few days later his grandfather dropped round to see him - through the window. He stayed for 10 minutes, gazing at his first grandchild. It was hard to have family...
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California Birth Equity Collaborative Improving Care for, by and with Black Mothers [CMQCC]
The California Birth Equity Collaborative is a CMQCC quality improvement initiative to improve birth care, experiences and outcomes for, by and with Black mothers and birthing people in California . Our team is comprised of partnerships among: CMQCC Black/Black women-led community-based organizations (CBOs) Participating hospitals State/national and local advisory groups Background: Since 1999, the reported maternal mortality data in California show a persistent 3-4x gap between Black...
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Consequences of Military Sexual Trauma for Perinatal Mental Health: How Do We Improve Care for Pregnant Veterans with a History of Sexual Trauma?
Sharing our recent editorial which includes a call for TIC in maternity care: "Nevertheless, there are ways in which VA may be able to augment the maternity care pregnant veterans receive to empower and facilitate more trauma-informed approaches to obstetric care. These include investing in programs to ensure peer support, possibly through use of mobile health technology; facilitating collaboration with maternity care providers through provision of handheld/electronic maternity records...
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Doulas & Covid-19: A toolkit for doulas (DONA International)
Please the attached toolkit for more information. From the toolkit: Best practices when working with clients Given how new this virus is, we currently have very little data on how it might affect pregnant people and newborns. Guidelines from the CDC outline recommendations for how to support pregnant and laboring people with Coronavirus. (3) There is currently no evidence that the virus is spread from mother to baby in utero, or that it is transmitted in human milk. (4)
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Effects of Preterm Birth
A baby born prematurely often spends that crucial time for attachment and development of neural pathways in the NICU
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Fearing Coronavirus, Many Rural Black Women Avoid Hospitals to Give Birth at Home (PEW TRUST)
By April Simpson, April 18, 2020, PEW Trust Black women are two to three times more likely to die from causes related to pregnancy than white women, regardless of income or education. Black midwives could be part of the solution, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, but restrictions on midwifery make it difficult to practice in many states. Pregnant women in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi have been calling nonstop to CHOICES Midwifery Practice in Memphis, but the center is...
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Giving birth in rural Oregon [The Bulletin]
By Carol Cruzan Morton, August 16, 2019, The Bulletin Health care providers struggle to provide high-quality care in communities with fewer births overall Itzel Wiewel was determined to control the circumstances of her second child’s delivery. Her first daughter’s birth at an out of state hospital was fraught with complications, evoking fear and helplessness. Her daughter spent a week in neonatal intensive care. Wiewel had a different vision for her next birthing experience. As her due date...
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HONORING PATTI RAMOS: Artist Reception and Fundraiser for Homeless Humans of Tacoma
Homeless Humans of Tacoma is a humanitarian mission founded by Patti Ramos, Tacoma resident, birth doula and freelance documentary photographer. Patti writes: "One of the most impactful experiences in my life is this humanitarian street outreach I was inspired to create in February of 2016. The enlightening conversations and encounters I have shared with folks who are experiencing homelessness in Tacoma/Olympia and throughout my travels in California, Arizona, Texas, New Orleans and Grays...
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Midwifery Is Having A Net Positive Impact On Maternal Health [Forbes]
Midwifery is growing in the United States . It is already an enormous presence in Europe. Furthermore a recent study found that the more a state’s health care laws allow the integration of midwifery, the better the well-being (measured by healthy and monitored pregnancy, presence of birth complications, health post-partum) of mother and baby tend to be. As for the future, I always like to check the past first . The past tells us that midwifery has been the norm for all of history across all...
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New ROOTS, Beyond Medicalization: Midwives and Maternity Care in America (Jewish Healthcare Foundation)
By Alyce Palko, April 30, 2020, Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Introducing the Jewish Healthcare Foundation's new ROOTS publication, Beyond Medicalization: Midwives and Maternity Care in America . Under the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is rapidly moving into a new era of healthcare delivery. Across the country, maternal healthcare policies are changing daily in order to ensure birthing families have access to safe care. Hospitals are making rapid decisions about whether birthing...
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Nourishing new mothers: Traditional postpartum diets to soothe the body and soul (The Washington Post)
By Rachel Tepper Paley, March 10, 2020, The Washington Post In the days following the birth of my daughter, my postnatal plan included the usual Western treatments: ice packs and numbing spray, tush pillows and mesh underwear. But my background as an Ashkenazi Jew merited an additional, culinary regimen: so-called Jewish penicillin, a.k.a. chicken noodle soup. On one hormone- fueled afternoon, I wept tears of joy into a steaming bowl of schmaltzy broth — such was its power. The notion that...
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Obstetric Violence: The Silent Epidemic in Egypt’s Maternal Health System [Egyptian Streets]
I am certain every one of you can think of a pregnant mother who did not have her husband in the delivery room, couldn’t eat or drink at the hospital, was given an epidural, had to labor on her back and probably ended up meeting her baby via C-section without fully understanding the medical need for it. Obstetric violence is a systemic and institutional problem. It is so engrained in our social practices and health systems here in Egypt that we think it’s the norm; but in reality, this is an...
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Seeing Birth From Baby's Perspective (online course) Class Womb
We are happy to announce our newest online course being offered through APPPAH’s ClassWomb ! We now know that the baby's experience of conception, pregnancy, birth, and attachment can provide a lifelong template for health and a foundation of resiliency to life’s challenges. Yet, the baby's experience often remains unconscious but profoundly alive in the body. Healing and integrating these early overwhelming events is possible. This course is especially geared towards therapists, educators,...
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She’s the ‘street doula’ behind the Homeless Humans of Tacoma. ‘They’re just like you and me’ (Tacoma News Tribune)
For roughly 40 years, Patti Ramos was a doula, assisting with more than 3,000 births. Now, Ramos has something new to consume her. There’s no paycheck involved this time — the 66-year-old gets by on Social Security income — but the hours are still long and the connections are still intimate. Today, Ramos, 66 and retired, considers herself a “street doula.” That’s because Ramos is the one-woman force behind the Homeless Humans of Tacoma project . For the last four years, she has spent her...
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The Benefits of Paid Maternity Leave for Maternal and Child Health (Psychology Today)
By Richa Bhatia, MD, March 11, 2020, Psychology Today New research reviews the benefits of maternity leave. About 23 percent of employed women in the U.S. return to work within 10 days of giving birth. An evidence-based review published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry earlier this week, which was authored by my team and I, shows that paid maternity leave is linked with significant physical and mental health benefits for mothers as well as their children. [ Please click here to read the...
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Through a Trauma Lens: The Need for Doulas
Trigger warning: trauma, doctors, hospital, birth, sex It is very important to me to approach all of the work that I do from a trauma-informed perspective. Whether it is asking for consent before touching a student in yoga class, offering self-regulation skills to those I work with, or preparing clients for potential triggers*, I do my best to incorporate my on-going learning in the field of trauma into my professional practices. Recently, I began taking trauma classes for professionals...
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Very Hot Weather Prompts Early Births, Study Says [nbcnews.com]
By Erika Edwards, NBC News, December 2, 2019 Extremely hot weather appears to prompt early labor, leading to as many as 25,000 early births every year in the U.S., according to a study published Monday. The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, analyzed data on 56 million births from 1969 to 1988, matching the birth dates to weather events in the counties where babies were born. "We saw a spike in births on hot days," said study author Alan Barreca, an associate professor...
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We Have to Better Understand What Foster Parents Need [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Ross Hunter, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 11, 2019 As a new leader in the child welfare space, I thought it would be worth my while to do some listening before I made any big changes. So I went on a tour all over the state of Washington. I talked to caseworkers, foster parents, birth families, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and anyone else I could find who had an opinion. I got an earful. “Everything is broken.” “I had a great experience.” “The caseworker never called...
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When the trauma of a difficult birth leaves mothers devastated, alone (centerforhealthjournalism.org)
While there has been extensive media coverage looking at the health risks faced by mothers before and after they gave birth, as well as the heavy toll of postpartum depression. But less remarked is the emotional trauma and devastation that mothers can face from a difficult labor and delivery. These kinds of birth-related traumas may be far more common than realized: 18 percent of mothers report experiencing post-traumatic symptoms from childbirth, according to one estimate from the 2008...
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Women Giving Birth in Low-Income Countries Often Endure Abuse [reuters.com]
By Linda Carroll, Reuters, October 22, 2019 Women are often mistreated during labor and delivery at hospitals in low-income countries, a new study suggests. During in-person observations of births at urban hospitals in Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria, researchers found that more than 40 percent of women experienced physical or verbal abuse, stigmatization or discrimination related to race or ethnicity, according to a report in The Lancet. Surveys of women who had recently given birth in those...
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ACEs Research Corner — May 2020
[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site -- abuseresearch.info -- that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Williams AB, Smith ER, Trujillo MA, et. al. Common health problems in safety-net primary care: Modeling the roles of trauma history and mental health. J Clin...
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The birth of a coronavirus carrier's baby in Australia was different, for all the right reasons (The Sydney Morning Herald)
By Aisha Dow, April 27, 2020, The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian doctors who delivered a coronavirus carrier's baby say they have achieved what could be a world first – by keeping an infected mother together with her newborn. Overseas, infants and mothers with the disease have been physically separated for 14 days after a scheduled caesarean section and prevented from breastfeeding. But when a 31-year-old woman with coronavirus gave birth at the Gold Coast University Hospital last month,...
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Association Between Mode of Delivery Among Pregnant Women With COVID-19 and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Spain (JAMA)
JAMA. Published online June 8, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10125 Data from China found severe complications in 8% of pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 1 However, the high rate of cesarean deliveries (>90%) in Chinese reports is concerning, 2 and whether mode of delivery is associated with maternal complications or neonatal transmission is unknown. 3 We assessed births to women with COVID-19 by mode of delivery. Methods Women with singleton pregnancies and a positive...
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Everything About the Coronavirus-Fueled Home Birth Trend Ignores the Realities for Black Women (Mother Jones)
Becca Andrews, June 15, 2020, Mother Jones “The solutions are within our communities, and people need to trust Black women, listen to Black women, and invest in Black women.” As a low-income, Black mother of seven, Laurie Bertram Roberts has limited faith in the medical establishment. So do her children. Back in March, when her middle daughter Kayla’s due date was inching closer amid a global pandemic, they made a decision: Kayla would deliver her baby at home. It wasn’t just one thing that...
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Creating Change Together: from the desk of APPPAH's Board of Directors & Diversity Committee
Association of Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health (APPPAH) Dear APPPAH Community, During this time of great change and upheaval, APPPAH stands in solidarity and support for equity, racial justice and social transformation in all areas of our society. We especially support the voices of all the Black and Indigenous mothers, fathers, babies, grandparents and extended families who have been living with the burden of racism and inequality for too long. In our organization, we have...
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Providing in a Pandemic: The Challenges of Rural Maternity Care Just Got More Difficult (Daily Yonder)
By Mikhal Ben Joseph, June 24, 2020, Daily Yonder. Rural moms already faced a host of obstacles to get good prenatal care. Rural nurse midwives and doulas are trying to fill the gap . (Part of a series.) Mothers all over the country faced new hurdles when Covid-19 turned birth plans upside down: fathers not allowed to attend prenatal care visits, temporary closure of health clinics and OB/GYN offices, concerns over mother-to-baby transmission of the disease. In rural America, it made the...
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Pregnant in a pandemic [washingtonpost.com]
By May-Ying Lam, The Washington Post, June 30, 2020 For women who are pregnant amid a pandemic, a recession and racial turmoil, the future is an anxiety-stirring unknown. They began their pregnancies in the “other world” that promised baby showers, gender-reveal parties, visits with grandparents and browsing stores for onesies. Now, they contemplate how they would handle a novel coronavirus diagnosis, prepare to give birth while wearing a mask and fight through old traumas that the virus has...
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Certified Lactation Specialist Program Beyond the Basics: Effectively Assisting Breastfeeding Mothers
We are going to have a small Lactation Specialist Program July 31st- Aug 2nd. Better Beginnings has offered us a limited number of scholarships to help cover the expenses of the students. We will be sitting 6 ft apart, in a well ventilated room, and will only have 10 students total. If you know someone who is interested, please have them call me! Rosanne Gephart CNM, MSN, IBCLC With Child Breastfeeding Support 5263 Beaumont Way - Santa Rosa, CA 95409 707-327-6911 *Please see attached for...
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Congressional Briefing: Advancing Respectful, Accountable Maternal Care in Medicaid
Plan to attend! Webinar Registration - Zoom Sep 15, 2020 02:00 PM EST The United States spends more on childbirth than any other country in the world and has the worst outcomes of any high-resource nation, particularly for Black and Indigenous women. Medicaid pays for nearly half of all births in the U.S. In the midst of the overlapping pandemics of systemic racism and COVID-19, there is a continued urgent need for respectful care and accountability so that everyone has access to the...
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SF announces pilot program to provide basic income to pregnant Black and Pacific Islander women [sfgate.com]
By Tessa McLean , SFGATE Updated 3:30 pm PDT, Wednesday, September 16, 2020 Mayor London Breed announced today the launch of a new pilot program that will provide a basic income to Black and Pacific Islander women during pregnancy and after giving birth. The 150 women chosen will receive a monthly income supplement of $1,000 for the duration of their pregnancy and for the first six months of their baby’s life, with the goal of eventually providing a supplement for up to two years...
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A new program in Mississippi is helping Black mothers breastfeed. Here's why it's crucial. (upworthy.com)
The Delta Baby Cafe in Sunflower County, Mississippi is providing breastfeeding assistance where it's needed most. Mississippi has the third lowest rate of breastfeeding in America. Only 70% of infants are ever-breastfed in the state, compared to 84% nationally. There are multiple reasons why Black women are less likely to breastfeed their children. First, according to the CDC , maternity wards that serve large Black populations are less likely to help Black women initiate breastfeeding...
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COVID-19: Trauma-Informed Perinatal Care and Maternal Health [psychologytoday.com]
By Ann Diamond Weinstein, Psychology Today, September 28, 2020 The experience of life during the pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 guidelines for perinatal care have changed the maternal-fetal experience of pregnancy and birth, as well as the maternal-infant experience during the postnatal period. The neuroception (1) of danger and the potential threat to one’s own life and that of loved ones has been sustained since the magnitude and lethalness of the pandemic was fully appreciated.
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When reproductive rights are less restrictive babies are born healthier (Elsevier)
Article by May Sudhinaraset, et.al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine , volume 59, issue 6 (December 2020). Women, particularly US-born Black women, in states with restrictive reproductive rights policies deliver more low birth weight babies and experience greater health inequities, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine [ Please click here to read more ]
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Effects of prenatal mindfulness-based childbirth education on child-bearers' trajectories of distress: a randomized control trial (BMC Pregnancy Childbirth)
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth . 2020; 20: 623. Published online 2020 Oct 15. doi: 10.1186/s12884-020-03318-8 . Abstract Background: The perinatal period is a time of immense change, which can be a period of stress and vulnerability for mental health difficulties. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise for reducing distress, but further research is needed to identify long-term effects and moderators of mindfulness training in the perinatal period. Methods: The current study used data...
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New nonprofit breast milk bank launches in San Diego (sandiegouniontribune.com)
San Diego — Every year, about 260 of the tiniest premature babies in California hospitals develop an often-fatal bowel disease known as necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. Nobody knows what causes NEC, but a common factor in many cases is the use of formula to feed these very low-birth-weight babies because the mother’s breast milk is not available. Replacing that formula with pasteurized breast milk in every California hospital newborn intensive care unit could be a positive step in reducing...
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New nonprofit breast milk bank launches in San Diego (sandiegouniontribune.com)
San Diego — Every year, about 260 of the tiniest premature babies in California hospitals develop an often-fatal bowel disease known as necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. Nobody knows what causes NEC, but a common factor in many cases is the use of formula to feed these very low-birth-weight babies because the mother’s breast milk is not available. Replacing that formula with pasteurized breast milk in every California hospital newborn intensive care unit could be a positive step in reducing...
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Learning in the New Year with Dr. Jared Parrish
Strengthening Alaska: How the Pre-Birth Environment Can Prevent ACEs - with Jared Parrish, PhD. Jan 7, 2021 11:00 AM. Alaska. The Alaska Resilience Initiative is ringing in the New Year right by spreading the findings of Dr. Jared Parrish. For the past ten years, Dr. Parrish has worked as a Senior Epidemiologist with the Alaska Department of Social Services. Now Dr. Parrish brings us the latest research on pregnancy and ACEs. Join us on January 7th at 11am as Dr. Parrish presents findings...
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Open access study reveals harmful effects of redlining on babies born three generations later [news.lib.berkeley.edu]
Virgie Hoban November 19, 2020 It was a racist policy enacted over 80 years ago, but its aftermath dribbles on — all the way to the babies born today, new research shows. Using historical maps and modern birth data, UC Berkeley researchers have found that babies born in California neighborhoods historically redlined — denied federal investments based on the discriminatory lending practices of the 1930s — are now more likely to have poorer health outcomes. The study was published open access...
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Prematurity: Transdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Early Trauma in Babies
Nearly one in 10 people born in the United States is premature (birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy), and its complications are the number one cause of death in babies. Those who survive premature birth often have long-term health issues. Surprisingly, the United States has one of the worst premature birth rates among high-resource nations (Source: March of Dimes ). Research has also shown that the countries with the highest prematurity rates also have high rates of depression and alcoholism...
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My ACEs Affected My Birth
High blood pressure. In your third trimester of pregnancy, you do not want to hear these three words, especially if you are planning to have a home birth. My blood pressure nearly caused me to have an induction for my first birth and transfer to a hospital birth for my second birth. I wish I had known of the ACEs test so I wouldn't have felt so lost and guilty. For my first birth I was clueless. I did not understand why this was happening to me because I ate a healthy diet, went to boxing...