Tagged With "Trauma Informed Care"
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Introduce mental health checks for new mothers, ministers told Six-week checkup would help the 50% of UK mothers with mental health problems
New mothers should receive a mental health checkup six weeks after giving birth to help tackle possible postnatal depression and other problems related to having a baby, ministers have been told. A cross-party group of 60 MPs and peers have written to Steve Brine, the minister for public health and primary care, demanding that all mothers in England have an assessment of their emotional and mental health carried out by a GP, practice nurse or health visitor. They say that making such...
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Introducing myself, Morgan Vien & NEW Practicing Resilience Community
Hello! I’m a Community Manager for the Practicing Resilience for Self-Care & Healing community. This is an introduction to me and this new community. I graduated with a B.S. in Public Health from Santa Clara University June 2017. And I’m interested in preventing chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, at the community and population level by addressing biological, psychological, and social factors that affect chronic disease outcomes. As the...
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Introducing NEW Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond Community
Earlier this year @Dawn Daum wrote to us when she was ready to share ACEs science with people in the organization she works in to make a case for moving towards more trauma-informed care for the benefit of the staff and those they serve. She was frustrated because almost all the training and resources she found were geared towards schools, clinical staff or to organizations working with children and families rather than ACE-impacted adults in the workplace and who are...
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Learning To Care For My Newborn Was A Humbling Experience [npr.org]
Wen is an emergency physician and the health commissioner of Baltimore City. Two months ago, my husband and I welcomed our baby son, Eli, into the world. Hearing his first cry and getting to hold him were the happiest moments of our lives. When he was placed on my chest and I could see and touch him, I felt like I knew him already. The doctors told us he was healthy and well. I couldn't wait to start our lives together as a family. The night we arrived home, Eli wouldn't stop crying. Crying...
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Lesson learned integrating ACEs science into health clinics: Staff first, THEN patients
Nearly two years ago, a team of colleagues at LifeLong Medical Clinics jumped at the opportunity to integrate practices based on ACEs science to prevent and heal trauma in their patients when it joined a two-year learning collaborative known as the Resilient Beginnings Collaborative (RBC). A few months after training began, the staff realized they had to put on the brakes.
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Love as Destiny: A Former Foster Youth's Journey in Motherhood [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Katarina Sayally, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 25, 2019 If you haven’t heard enough stories about what breaking the intergenerational cycle of foster care looks like, I want to share one. This is our story, and it’s a good one. When I found out I was pregnant, the only fear I had was, “What if my baby ends up in foster care?” As a former foster youth who works in the field, I am constantly reminded of this possibility. One study found that mothers in foster care were twice as...
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Making the Good Stuff Louder: Trauma Dad, Bryon Hamel
Byron Hamel, (AKA Trauma Dad ), is a filmmaker , children's rights and men's wellness advocate. He's also a father with "ACEs through the roof," who survived child torture at the hands of a man now on death row for infanticide. Before the Father & ACEs chat started last week (see full chat transcript ), we discussed if and how to give a trigger warning. Hamel's experienced horrific trauma during childhood. He didn't want to traumatize those on the chat but wanted to be honest.
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Maternal Mental Health (CA) 2019 Legislation [2020mom.org]
2020 Mom Sponsors .... We are a sponsor of the following MMH bills: AB 845: CA Medical Board: Optional Obstetric Provider Mental Health Training – View fact sheet AB 1676: Telepsychiatry Consultation for Obstetricians, PCPs and Pediatricians – View fact sheet We support the following MMH bill: AB 577: Extends MediCal coverage to 12 Months for Moms Diagnosed with an MMH Disorder We support the following Mental Health bills: SB 66: FQHCs- Payment for Mental Health Services when Medical...
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Mental Health Care Could Get Easier for New Moms Under New California Rules (Capital Public Radio)
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo
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More Clinicians Need to Address Postpartum Depression and other Postpartum or Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
“It’s okay to tell me that you’re not okay.” Postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the most common medical concerns for women after childbirth. Yet few medical and mental health professionals really know how prevalent and serious PPD and PMADs are. There is a great need for better screening to identify women struggling with postpartum disorders. Likewise, more therapists and mental health providers need to know about treatment...
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My son was hospitalized and now he has PTSD
“Grant, do you remember when you were in the hospital?” “Yes… they came to take the blood and I turned into a werewolf.” Original Post It happened quickly. A year ago my three year old had a collarbone fracture, it became infected and within 24 hours the situation was emergent. A week long hospital stay, one month with a PICC line and two months on oral antibiotics. Finally, the labs finally came back normal. The X-Ray was clean. Gillette Children’s Hospital closed our case. But the healing...
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Need 45 Trauma-Informed Practitioners or Clinicians For Study on Using a Brain Regulation Headband-Bellabee Designed To Help Trauma Survivors Regulate Their Brains.
Need 45 Trauma-Informed Practitioners or Clinicians For Study on Using a Brain Regulation Headband-Bellabee Designed To Help Trauma Survivors Regulate Their Brains. All trauma informed practitioners who are suffering with or who work with adults or children suffering with C-PTSD, PTSD, Developmental Trauma, Depression, Anxiety, ADHD & Sleep Disorders are welcome to apply to be considered for this study. We currently have 41 applicants, and applicantions are approved on a first come first...
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New Postpartum Depression Drug Could Be Hard To Access For Moms Most In Need [NPR]
One in nine women in the United States suffer from depression after childbirth. For some women, postpartum depression is so bad that they struggle to care for their children and may even consider or attempt suicide. This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug that can help, the first drug approved specifically for postpartum depression. While researchers and clinicians are excited about the drug's potential, some foresee obstacles to making it available to women who need...
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New Resource Center Dedicated to Helping Providers Address the Health Effects of Trauma
The new Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center offers a one-stop information hub for health care providers and other stakeholders interested in learning about and implementing trauma-informed care.
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NICU Stay Associated With Later Mental-Health Problems [medscape.com]
By Anne Harding, Medscape, February 6, 2020 Spending time in the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence, according to a new population-based study. "In childhood, the risks of separation anxiety, specific phobia, oppositional defiant disorder and ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) were particularly pronounced while adolescents tended to struggle more with oppositional defiant disorder," Dr.
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No ACEs, low resilience worse than high ACE and resilience scores, study finds
What does measuring resilience tell us about pregnant women who have experienced ACEs? For one thing, it affirms that understanding how a mom-to-be weathers difficult experiences gives greater meaning to her ACE score and what it might mean for her children. That was one of the takeaways from a recent study in the Journal of Women’s Health entitled “ Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental and Behavioral Health Conditions During Pregnancy: The Role of Resilience ,” says Dr. Carey Watson,...
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Nominate a Trauma-Informed Care Champion: #TICchampion
Becoming a trauma-informed organization requires clear communication about the transformation process, and support from staff at all levels of an organization. Often these efforts are spearheaded by “trauma-informed care champions”— individuals committed to raising awareness regarding the health effects of trauma and toxic stress and improving care for people who have experienced trauma. This week, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) invites you to recognize people around you who...
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Nothing About Them Would Stand Out in a Crowd
photo credit: chuttersnap/unsplash.com By Alice M. Kenny (pseudonym) (The article below is an excerpt from my new book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids . I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) The emotions adult children of parents with mental illness experience are a mixed bag. Sometimes a jumble. Guilt, loss, grief, and resentment are among the emotions that persist or bubble to the surface in adulthood. Some feel...
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NPPC shares lessons learned and results from ACEs screening pilot sites
For Dr. Mercie Digangi, a pediatrician at Kaiser Southern California in Downey, CA, ACEs screening provided a crystal clear before-and-after in how she changed treatment plans for her pediatric patients, she explained to attendees of a December 2 webinar organized by the National Pediatric Practice Community on ACEs (NPPC) and cosponsored by ACEs Connection. Dr. Mercie Digangi One case that turned ACEs screening into a never-go-back moment for her was a three-year-old who was speech-delayed.
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One way Childhood Trauma Leads to Poorer Health for Women [news.osu.edu]
By Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State News, September 17, 2019 Researchers have long known that childhood trauma is linked to poorer health for women at midlife. A new study shows one important reason why. The national study of more than 3,000 women is the first to find that those who experienced childhood trauma were more likely than others to have their first child both earlier in life and outside of marriage – and that those factors were associated with poorer health later in life. The findings...
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Opioid-Dependent Newborns Get New Treatment: Mom Instead of Morphine [CHCF]
Aug 1, 2019, Dana G. Smith, for CHCF When babies are born dependent on opioids, typically they are whisked away from their mothers, put into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), dosed with morphine to get them through withdrawal, and gradually weaned off the drug—a process that can take weeks. Research now suggests that this long-established standard of care may be the worst way to care for a newborn with opioid dependency, or neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The NICU is busy, noisy,...
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Parental Depression and Its Impact on Child and Family Well-Being [CANTASD]
Parental Depression and Its Impact on Child and Family Well-Being On March 9, 2018, The National Child Abuse and Neglect Technical Assistance and Strategic Dissemination Center ( CANTASD ) hosted a Digital Dialogue with Jessica Dym Bartlett, the Deputy Program Area Director for Early Childhood Development & Child Welfare at Child Trends . The conversation focused on the impact of parental depression on child and family well-being . This [ ARTICLE ] document summarizes the conversation...
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Parenting, PTSD & ACES / Live Chat Event from Parenting with ACEs Series
Our next online chat event is fast approaching. All are welcome. Date: Tuesday, June 13th, 2017 (10 AM PST / 1 PM EST) Topic: Parenting, PTSD & ACEs. Guests: Dawn Daum & Joyelle Brandt are parents, writers, advocates and trauma survivors. Together, they edited the forthcoming Parenting with PTSD anthology and created an online community for parents recovering from childhood abuse. They educate mental health, human service and other professionals about the challenges and lived...
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Penn Nursing Conference Stresses Need for Mental Health Awareness in Health Care [thedp.com]
By Anya Tullman, The Daily Pennsylvanian, October 21, 2019 A student-run conference in the School of Nursing Saturday drew nearly 200 students and community members to talk about incorporating mental health awareness into health care. The "Reimagining Mental Health" conference featured speakers from across the Philadelphia and Penn communities who discussed harm reductionist and trauma-informed approaches to health care. "Harm reduction" refers to the practice of medical professionals...
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Perinatal Trauma Informed Care and the Trauma Sensitive Intake
Monday, March 4, marks the beginning of Birth Psychology Month for the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Pyschology and Health (APPPAH). This monthlong celebration features a panel of speakers around trauma informed practices for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. APPPAH received a grant for this project, so live lectures are free. Our first two speakers will be on Monday at 7 pm and 8:30 pm Eastern time. Jennie Birkholz, Principal of Breakwater Light, LLC, Trauma informed educator...
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Petaluma Health Center leads effort to link women to services
Sonoma County was one of six sites selected nationally to participate in a CityMatCH practice collaborative to prevent substance exposed pregnancies. In 2012 Rebecca Munger CNM, PHN the Sonoma County Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Coordinator lead a broad coalition of reproductive health champions who worked across sectors and settings to develop a trio of strategies to reduce substance exposed pregnancies. The first strategy developed with CDC and WHO technical support was a bundled...
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Please stop saying parenting is hard for everyone & read Parenting with PTSD instead
Sometimes, we feel anxious, intrusive, or afraid when changing or bathing or own babies. Sometimes, we feel sick to our stomachs and worried while potty training, nurturing, or disciplining our toddlers. Sometimes, we feel shame-filled and ill-equipped when talking about puberty, body parts, or sexuality because of how and where we were compromised by caregivers as children as in our bodies, homes, and families. P arenting is brutally hard for some. If affection, attention and intimacy have...
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Positive Relationships Can Buffer Childhood Trauma and Toxic Stress, Researchers Say [bostonglobe.com]
By Kay Lazar, The Boston Globe, October 15, 2019 Traumatic events and toxic relationships during childhood can cast long shadows, often damaging mental health well into adulthood. But a growing body of research suggests sustained, positive relationships with caring adults can help mitigate the harmful effects of childhood trauma. And specialists say pediatricians, social workers, and others who work with kids should take steps to monitor and encourage those healthy relationships — just as...
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Postpartum Anxiety Is an Epidemic Among American Mothers. Why Does It So Often Go Undiagnosed? (Time Magazine)
By Sarah Menkedick, March 20, 2020, for Time As a new mother, I worried about mouse poop in the small cabin where I lived. About fracking chemicals in the water. About glyphosate in the oatmeal. About flame retardants in pajamas. About phthalates in toys. Although it constantly overwhelmed me, I thought my anxiety was normal, even necessary. After all, it was my job to protect my child. When I mentioned my fear at my six-week follow-up appointment after birth—the sole instance of medical...
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Pregnant Behind Bars: What We Do And Don't Know About Pregnancy And Incarceration [NPR]
There are 111,616 incarcerated women in the United States, a 7-fold increase since 1980. Some of these women are pregnant, but amid reports of women giving birth in their cells or shackled to hospital beds , prison and public health officials have no hard data on how many incarcerated women are pregnant, or on the outcomes of those pregnancies. A study published in The American Journal of Public Health Thursday changes that. The study included 57 percent of the US prison population (New...
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Prenatal Strategies to Support Families in Iowa
How can we build a sturdy foundation for children from the start? This updated white paper from the Iowa ACEs 360 Coalition examines the stress expecting mothers in Iowa are experiencing and prenatal strategies to create the best outcomes for the whole family.
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Preventable trauma in childhood costs north America and Europe US$ 1.3 trillion a year [WHO]
By World Health Organization (photo by WHO/Malin Bring) The findings of a new study on the life-course health consequences and associated annual costs of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show that preventable trauma in childhood costs north America and the European Region US$ 1.3 trillion a year. The article, published in the Lancet and co-authored by Dinesh Sethi and Jonathon Passmore, Programme Manager, Violence and Injury Prevention, WHO/Europe, looks at the legacy of ACEs and their...
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Provisional Postpartum Care Extension (PPCE) – SB 104 (CHCS)
Please click HERE to read more about this California specific information. Provisional Postpartum Care Extension (PPCE) – SB 104 SB 104 (Chapter 67, Statues of 2019) authorized DHCS to implement the PPCE, which will extend Medi-Cal or Medi-Cal Access Program coverage for pregnant or postpartum individuals who provide confirmation from a provider indicating that the individual has been diagnosed with a maternal mental health condition during their pregnancy , postpartum period, or 90-day cure...
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What We Can Learn From Postpartum Confinement Traditions (Romper)
By Jamie Kenney, March 31, 2020, Romper The idea of staying home after birth, doing little but caring for your baby and healing while others tend to your wellbeing may sound like an unimaginable dream. But postpartum confinement traditions can be found around the world. While the specific rules about confinement vary from culture to culture, the fundamental premise is largely the same: female family members swoop in to care for a new mother, her home, and, when necessary, her baby. Mom is...
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What You and Your Family Need to Know About Maternal Depression [nytimes.com]
For the first time, a national health panel has recommended a way to prevent depression during and after pregnanc y. This condition, known as perinatal depression, affects up to one in seven women and is considered the most common complication of pregnancy. The panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, said two types of counseling can help keep symptoms at bay. Its recommendation means that under the Affordable Care Act, such counseling must be covered by insurance with no...
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When Doctors Downplay Women’s Health Concerns [nytimes.com]
“Well, you look like you’re doing great,” my primary care physician cheerfully informed me. I stared at her from the examination table in disbelief. I had just told her that I wasn’t enjoying being with my children and was having trouble doing what needed to be done at work and at home. As a health journalist, I had interviewed dozens of physicians and psychologists. I knew that being unable to live one’s life was the big red flag signaling it was time to get help. I was asking for help. But...
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When getting mom and baby to the right hospital is a matter of life or death [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
The U.S. has some of the best perinatal care on earth, but kids die before the age of 1 here at a higher rate than the most of the developed world. A big part of the problem is that high-risk pregnant women and newborns aren't getting the right care during their time of need. That's a problem lawmakers across the country are increasingly trying to address. Indiana, for instance, recently passed a law establishing a system that rates hospitals on the complexity of neonatal and maternal care...
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When Parents Fear "It's All My Fault"
Many of my colleagues in the field of early childhood mental health work with what are termed "high risk" populations. Children of drug addicted parents, victims of child abuse, and families in abject poverty. While the challenges these families face are daunting, I find myself feeling some envy for my colleagues whose clients are in such obvious distress that the need for intensive treatment of parent and infant is not in question. In my rural, small-town population things are not so clear.
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When pregnant women who abuse opioids are treated like criminals, their babies suffer (latimes.com)
Laws that punish women who abuse drugs during a pregnancy are often billed as a way to protect unborn babies from addiction. But new research finds they have the opposite effect: After states enact laws treating pregnant drug users as unfit mothers or criminals, the number of newborns who contend with drug withdrawal jumps significantly. The new findings suggest that laws that criminalize a mother’s drug use during pregnancy or threaten to remove newborns from their mothers’ care discourage...
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Why Intentionally Building Empathy Is More Important Now Than Ever (kqed.org)
Those in helping professions like teaching, social work, or medicine can buffer themselves from burnout and “compassion fatigue” with self-care strategies, including meditation and social support . A study of nurses in acute mental health settings found staff support groups helped buffer the nurses, but only if they were structured to minimize negative communication and focused on talking about challenges in constructive ways. English Professor Cris Beam also studies empathy and wrote a book...
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Why therapy during pregnancy should be required [WashingtonPost.com]
People frequently consider going to therapy before they make a major life transition, such as getting married or changing careers. But what about when embarking on a monumental shift such as parenthood? Women, who are advised to exercise and watch what they eat while they are pregnant, don’t always think of psychotherapy as an important part of their prenatal care regimen, but it can be critical to the well-being of mother and baby, both during and after pregnancy. For many people, pregnancy...
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Why Treating Postpartum Depression As Trauma is Key to Good Care
Most health professionals understand postpartum depression (PPD) and other mood disorders are a serious mental health concern. Raising awareness of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) is so important for two reasons. First, professionals need to be more proactive with evaluation and diagnosis. Women very often hide their struggle with overwhelming anxiety, worry and depression. Just because a new mom arrives for a checkup, nicely dressed and with her makeup on, it’s not safe to...
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Why We Suck (at Self-Soothing & Self-Care): Dr. Dawn O'Malley
Without yoga and coffee, I'm kind of a jerk. These are my personal "puppy uppers and doggie downers" and prevent me from being cranky, quick to cry, and ready for conflict. Coffee and calming make life more manageable. Humans even seem tolerable. Without them I might veer into hating humans for being so needy which is not a great trait for a parent, partner or a professional. Or a self. My partner says coffee and exercise are acts of kindness, service as promote public safety. In other...
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New D'Achille center at West Penn wraps services around new moms struggling with depression [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
A variety of services for women with pregnancy-related depression is now available in a new facility at West Penn Hospital, the dream of a McCandless man who lost his wife to the condition and those he inspired who want individualized care available to every woman. West Penn patient Tishla Jones of Lincoln Place said she found herself feeling overwhelmed and distancing herself from others, including her older children, after the birth of her fourth child, now 10 months. She was referred by...
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Yolo County Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) 3 year proposed budget includes MMH and Trauma Informed Care for training!
Yolo County's progressive and collaborative nature once again allows for critical issues to be addressed and proposed for funding. Proud to be in Yolo and thanks to our Yolo County MHSA team and stakeholders for lifting up trauma informed care and Perinatal Mental Health as training needs! While the 3 year budget has not been approved, we are thrilled that these two topics have made it into the proposal under WET funds (Workforce, Education & Training!). As a stakeholder, you have a...
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Yolo Crisis Nursery: The power of partnership [davisenterprise.com]
Sara is a young, pregnant, single mom who didn’t know where to start. There were so many wolves at the door and she had no clue as to which one to take on first, or even if any of them could be driven away. Her toddler son had just been removed from another child-care center due to behavioral challenges. Without child care, Sara was on the brink of losing her job, which meant the family would be evicted from their apartment and forced to live on the streets. It seemed she had nowhere to...
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Beyond Mom: Postpartum depression can impact a partner’s well-being, too [WashingtonPost.com]
Like any expecting couple, Brett Pipitone and his wife, Laura, knew that having a child would upend their daily routine. But no research or planning prepared them for their biggest challenge: postpartum depression. “It was an incredibly stressful situation,” Brett said. After giving birth to their daughter in 2014, Laura found herself “wanting to disappear” and completely disengaged from her surroundings. She’d call Brett at work in tears, and he’d rush home to help. He wound up taking much...
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Beyond Paper Tigers is Back!
Back for the second year, Beyond Paper Tigers conference will take place June 28th and 29th in Walla Walla, WA. Featuring Dr. Ken Ginsburg from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as the keynote speaker, BPT builds on the story of one community and how they've learned that embracing trauma-informed care and implementing ACEs science truly takes a village. Operationalizing the latest in brain science, BPT will provide concrete strategies for intervention with youth, families, and communities...
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Beyond The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act: Implementation And Further Policy Change [Health Affairs]
By Katy B. Kozhimannil, Elaine Hernandez, Dara D. Mendez, Theresa Chapple-McGruder. Feb 4, 2019, Health Affairs Maternal mortality is a death that occurs during pregnancy or within one year postpartum from “a pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiologic effects of pregnancy.” In the United States, maternal mortality is a clinical, public health, and social crisis. Between 1990 and 2013, maternal mortality...
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CA announces robust perinatal depression prevention for Medi-Cal recipients
Melinda Coates experienced a tumultuous pregnancy. “I was really mentally upset literally from day one (of the pregnancy),” she says. (Melinda Coates is a pseudonym. To protect her and her children’s privacy and safety, we are not using her real name.) Coates had hoped to get counseling last October, when she was seven months pregnant. That’s when she enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program, shortly after she and her abusive husband moved to California, “but nobody was able to get me in...