Tagged With "Mental Wellness"
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134 pregnant women in L.A. tested positive for coronavirus, but none of their babies (LA Times)
By Colleen Shalby, May 11, 2020, LA Times Staff Writer. COVID-19 has hit all walks of life in Los Angeles County, from wealthy enclaves to working-class neighborhoods, as well as prisons and nursing homes. Officials have warned that the most vulnerable individuals to developing serious effects from the novel coronavirus include women who are pregnant. But little is known about how pregnant women have fared since the pandemic began, as their numbers are not typically broken out in overall...
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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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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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ACEs Connection Overview
ACES CONNECTION NETWORK OVERVIEW ACEs = Adverse Childhood Experiences 2 SITES ACEsTooHigh.com A solutions-oriented news site for the general public that covers stories on ACEs, trauma, and resilience. ACEsConnection.com An action-based...
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Addicts Among Us - a hopeful documentary about ACEs and addiction in Humboldt County, California (YouTube Video)
Addicts Among Us is a hour-long documentary investigating the connection between childhood trauma in Humboldt County and the region’s skyrocketing addiction rates. Addiction experts have zeroed in on adverse childhood experiences as a cause for addictive behavior. By examining local lives and stories, KEET examines this connection and efforts in the community to see this addressed. The associate producer of the video, James Faulk - one of the central interviewees of the film - attended First...
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All hands on deck (from a distance): remote care for traumatized moms and babies
Dear colleague, Coronavirus is forcing providers and allied professionals serving mothers and babies to make unprecedented decisions. Should pregnant women needing care go through our hospital quarantine entrance? Should moms deliver without partners, family or doulas present? Be sent home early before key screenings or jaundice treatment are completed? To make matters worse, our systems aren't ready for basic remote care of mothers and infants now "socially distanced". Prenatal, post-partum...
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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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Can Psychotherapy Reverse Post-Traumatic Epigenetic Changes? [psychologytoday.com]
By Grant H. Brenner, Psychology Today, October 29, 2019 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition affecting a subset of people exposed to traumatic experiences. Not all people who endure traumatic experiences will develop PTSD as most people are resilient due to biological, psychological, and social factors. Most responses to trauma are normal, including short-term stress responses, sleep disturbances, fears of trauma happening again, and related reactions, but they resolve after...
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CenteringParenting Recognized as Innovative Pediatric Intervention in New Report from The Center for the Study of Social Policy [globenewswire.com]
By Vandana Devgan, Centering Healthcare Institute, November 15, 2019 Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI) is honored to share that its pediatric group care model CenteringParenting®, has been recognized by The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) as an innovative pediatric intervention in its latest study. "Fostering Social and Emotional Health: Common Threads to Transform Everyday Practice and System" , released as part of the Pediatrics Supporting Parents (PSP) initiative, shares...
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Childbirth Can be Another Source of Trauma for Women Who Were Abused [irishtimes.com]
By Arlene Harris, The Irish Times, February 7, 2020 While it may be an innate and mainly joyful event, many pregnant women feel anxious at the thought of going through labour and can suffer emotional and physical distress during the delivery itself. And there is one group of women for whom there is an extra level of trauma associated with the arrival of their unborn child – those who have been victims of sexual assault. Hazel Larkin is a sexual abuse survivor and over the coming months will...
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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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How to Help a Child Struggling With Anxiety [npr.org]
By Cory Turner, National Public Radio, October 29, 2019 Childhood anxiety is one of the most important mental health challenges of our time. One in five children will experience some kind of clinical-level anxiety by the time they reach adolescence, according to Danny Pine, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the world's top anxiety researchers. Pine says that for most kids, these feelings of worry won't last, but for some, they will —...
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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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Mom's Behavior Affects Bonding Hormone Oxytocin in Babies [psychcentral.com]
By Traci Pederson, PsychCentral, November 1, 2019 Research has shown that a new mom’s oxytocin levels can influence her behavior, and as a result, the bond she makes with her baby. Now a new epigenetic study suggests that a mom’s behavior can also have a substantial impact on her child’s developing oxytocin system. Oxytocin is a vital hormone involved in social interaction and bonding in humans. It strengthens trust and closeness in relationships and can be triggered by eye contact, empathy...
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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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Senate Resolution re Diaper Banks and National Diaper Network
May 14, 2019: Resolution Recognizes The Importance Of Diaper Banks And Providing Diapers To Families In Need Senate Resolution re Diapers RESOLUTION Expressing the gratitude of the Senate for the people who operate or support diaper banks and diaper distribution programs in their local communities. Whereas the lack of a sufficient clean diaper supply can adversely affect the physical, mental, and economic wellbeing of infants, toddlers, and their families; Whereas diapers are a material...
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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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Trauma-Informed Care as a Universal Precaution: Beyond the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire [jamanetwork.com]
By Nicole Racine, Teresa Killam, and Sheri Madigan, JAMA Pediatrics, November 4, 2019 Experiences of childhood adversity are common, with more than 50% of adults reporting having experienced at least 1 adversity as children and more than 6% exposed to 4 or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). There is currently a controversial debate in the medical field as to whether the ACEs questionnaire, which asks about abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction before age 18 years, should be...
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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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Experts Fear Increase in Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders [nytimes.com]
By Pooja Lakshmin, The New York Times, May 27, 2020 After going through a harrowing bout of postpartum depression with her first child, my patient, Emily, had done everything possible to prepare for the postpartum period with her second. She stayed in treatment with me, her perinatal psychiatrist, and together we made the decision for her to continue Zoloft during her pregnancy. With the combination of medication, psychotherapy and a significant amount of planning, she was feeling confident...
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What's Missing in the Effort to Stop Maternal Deaths [nytimes.com]
By Austin Frakt, The New York Times, July 13, 2020 According to the best data available , as summarized in a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States could prevent two-thirds of maternal deaths during or within a year of pregnancy. Policies and practices to do so are well understood; we just haven’t employed them. A first step is measuring maternal death rates, which is harder than you might think . The death needs to be directly related to the pregnancy or...
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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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ACEs and Gynecological Problems - A Conversation Starter
Gynecological problems as a result of ACEs, and particularly of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA), are rarely discussed in books and articles about the ACEs. The author would like to see that issue become part of the ACEs conversation.
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Freedom From Trauma – Powerful & Profound Practices To Heal Trauma & Consciously Create The Body, Mind, Spirit You Truly Desire
We are living in complicated and stressful times. What needs to be healed seems more palpable than ever. It feels like the call to release what no longer serves has never been louder and we are feeling that tug at our core. While the founder of The League of Extraordinary People, Alfred White, has been gaining more clarity everyday on this, he was invited to be part of an event, more like a movement, to help others find freedom from what has been holding them back. It is a free, online...
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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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NOW AVAILABLE ON DEMAND: The Repressed Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Adult Well-Being, Disease and Social Functioning: Turning Gold into Lead (Dr. Vincent J. Felitti) [avahealth.org]
The ACE Study reveals how typically unrecognized adverse childhood experiences are not only common, but causally underlie a number of the most common causes of adult social malfunction, biomedical disease, and premature death. Moreover, it enables one to see that the Public Health Problem is often an individual’s attempted Solution to childhood experiences about which we keep ourselves unaware. A renowned physician and researcher, Dr. Vincent J. Felitti is one of the world’s foremost experts...
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Paying Attention to Mental Wellness
Here is a link to a recent post -- tied into Dak Prescott's injury and an article on post-partum depression. Key here is that if you can name feelings, then you can tame them. https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/we-dont-recognize-mental-distress-that-has-to-change-1e23074f2f19 Watch too for a new download: Trauma Toolbox Maker Kit at www.karengrosseducation.com. Should be available by week's end.
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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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New Resource: Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic One-Pager (English & Spanish!)
English: The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s (CDSS/OCAP) , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative , ACEs Connection , and the Yolo County Children’s Alliance have co-created a newly developed resource, “Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic” in both English and Spanish. This material is intended for Californian families experiencing the severe...
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Maternal Mental Health
Like many of you, I’m a bit out of sorts and somewhat disoriented right now. Our collective mental health is deteriorating during Covid-19. Recent stats report an increase from 20-40% of adults struggling with mental illness since the advent of the pandemic. Maternal mental health is particularly at risk. Helping children with distance learning, navigating exposure to the news, trying to keep life a bit “normal”, keeping family members fed and supplied, juggling career and income loss, all...
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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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A Better Normal Friday, March 26, 2021: PACEs and HOPE with Dr. Christina Bethell
Please join us for our next installment of A Better Normal, our live webinar series in which we imagine and create our society as trauma-informed! You may have seen we changed our name recently from ACEs Connection to PACEs Connection. Please join us to learn all about the groundbreaking research of Positive Childhood Experiences and how this is going to transform the work we are all doing. >>Click here to register<< PACEs and HOPE Live Event Friday, March 26, 2021 Noon PT / 1pm...
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Rural Hospital Closures Prompt Maternal and Infant Mortality Concerns, Psychological Birth Trauma
This article was initially published in RACmonitor and appears with the publisher’s permission The country’s smallest hospitals continue to be in peril, as are the patients who rely on them. This issue continues to be the reality for rural health with major challenges for the patients and providers in those regions. 7.4% of babies born in the US are birthed at hospitals handling 10 to 500 births a year, or “low-volume” hospitals. In the context of our industry’s fiscal focus, that number...
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The 2023 Creating Resilient Communities Accelerator Program is now Open For Registration
PACEs Connection is excited to kick off our 2023 Creating Resilient Communities (CRC) Annual Accelerator Program.
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Quick Focus Group on ACEs & Successful 60+ Year Olds
Are you over 60 and successful despite your Adverse Childhood Experiences? Are you realizing that it’s truly now or never for your Soul’s original desire? Do you want to secure your Soul’s full incarnation before you leave this Earth? Are there family relationships you’d like to mend?
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The 2023 Creating Resilient Communities Summer Curriculum is Now Open for Registration
PACEs Connection is excited to roll out our summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum dates. Members who complete the CRC will qualify for a fall 2023 fellowship program.
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Review of “First 60 Days” booklet: Leveraging author’s work and movement could spark revolution to prevent and heal trauma, one precious baby, child, and caregiver at a time.
(This is a review of what I believe is an important new resource for the PACEs [for positive and adverse childhood experiences] science movement. Opinions expressed are my own, and are shared as a parent, advocate, author, and longtime student of trauma, healing, and prevention. Thoughts are also shared through my lens as someone who believes, deeply, in the incredible importance of and value in building healthier, more compassionate communities to support and nurture pregnant and new...
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What Children Really Need Is Adults That Understand Development
The brain doesn’t fully develop until about the age of 25. This fact is sometimes quite surprising and eye opening to most adults. It can also be somewhat overwhelming for new parents and professionals who are interacting with babies and young children every day, to contemplate. It is essential to realize however, that the greatest time of development occurs in the years prior to kindergarten. And even more critical to understand is that by age three 85 percent of the core structures of the...
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Early Relational Health Innovators Partner In Program Supported by PACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities Members in Twelve California Counties
Christina Bethell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, founder of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), principal author of the groundbreaking study on positive childhood experiences, and creator of the free Well Visit Planner, among other innovations. Two internationally-respected leaders and innovators in complementary aspects of early relational health and childhood and maternal health equity recently launched a partnership they believe will benefit everyone from newborn babies and...
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Empathy: Can It Make The Difference?
Emotion has an enormous impact on imprinting memory in our brains. I had an experience when I was 6 years old that included emotion and I have the memory of it all of these many years later. It was a 6 year old birthday sleepover party. There were 7 girls invited that lived near each other and played together most days. A girl new to the neighborhood was invited only due to the requirement of the birthday girl’s mother. I was also invited. I lived a block away but did play with these girls...
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Tender Love: A Somatic Approach to Trauma-Informed Birthwork
For non-clinical perinatal care professionals, birthwork is not just a job, but a calling to help others on their path to parenthood. Doulas, childbirth and lactation educators, and newborn care specialists dedicate themselves to the well-being of their clients. But this commitment comes with challenges that can be tough to overcome, such as punishing schedules, vicarious trauma, and a sense of powerlessness in their working environments. To address these realities in the perinatal care...