Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for Healthy Start Programs
Evidence-based practices include actions, activities, strategies, or approaches that improve the health of women, before, during, and after pregnancy in order to improve birth outcomes and give infants up to age two years a healthy start. Also included in the collection are informational materials and tools that make it easier to implement evidence-based practices. To search by title, use the main search box located at the top of this page.
The incidence of syphilis in American women doubled between 2012 and 2016, and the incidence of congenital syphilis rose concomitantly. Congenital syphilis can lead to stillbirth, neonatal death, and lasting effects such as bone deformities and neurologic impairment in the newborn. Because of this, the USPSTF has reiterated its guidance that all pregnant women be tested for syphilis at their first prenatal visit. They also point out that many organizations recommend repeat testing of high-risk women in the third trimester and at delivery.
Topics:
Prenatal Care and Education STDs including HIV
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health Promote Quality
Benchmarks:
Evidence Rating:
II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.
This recently revised document discusses the rationale and recommendations for “opt-out” HIV testing in pregnancy. It explains how test results can be used to guide treatment for HIV in pregnancy in order to optimize outcomes for both mother and baby.
Topics:
Prenatal Care and Education STDs including HIV
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health Promote Quality
Benchmarks:
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
This toolkit provides a foundation, framework and resources for advancing maternal health in the U.S. as a human rights issue. It provides a research overview of maternal morbidity and mortality, focusing on trends, health disparities and inequities. Based on the deliberations of a cross-sectoral convening of stakeholders it offers a state policy framework for upholding the right to safe and respectful maternal health care, which offers recommendations in six key areas: improving access to reproductive health care, improving quality of maternal health care, ensuring acceptability of maternal health care for women most at risk, ensuring widespread availability of maternal health services, ensuring non-discrimination in access to care and social determinants of health, and fostering accountability to human rights standards for maternal health care.
Topics:
Case Management/Care Coordination Home Visiting Insurance Coverage Life Course Model Patient-centered Medical Home Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health
Benchmarks:
Health Insurance Postpartum Visit Well Woman Visits
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
This guide is intended to support the efforts of states, tribes, and local communities in addressing the needs of pregnant women with opioid use disorders and their infants and families, through a coordinated, multi-sytem approach. The guide is designed to assist healthcare providers, SUD treatment providers, child welfare programs and judicial systems to improve their collaborative practice, and to offer information about additional resources that will strengthen their capacity to provide coordinated, best-practice care and services Collaborative planning and implementation of services that reflect best practices for treating opioid use disorders during pregnancy are yielding promising results in communities across the country. .
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Patient-centered Medical Home Prenatal Care and Education
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health
Benchmarks:
Evidence Rating:
II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.
Program P is a resource developed as part of the global MenCare campaign coordinated by Promundo and the Sonke Gender Justice Network. The manual outlines concrete strategies for engaging men in active caregiving from their partner’s pregnancy through their child’s early years, and preventing violence against women and children. It includes tools to aid in creating open spaces for men in the clinic setting, detailed guidance on providing gender-transformative group education for men, and advice on encouraging community mobilization around fatherhood, child protection, maternal and child health and gender equality. It is available in 5 languages.
Topics:
Intimate Partner Violence Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education
Approaches:
Strengthen Family Resilience
Benchmarks:
Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
This 244-page publication contains detailed guidelines and recommendations on the identification and management of women who are pregnant or postpartum and use alcohol or drugs or have a substance use disorder. It includes extensive information on screening and brief interventions, psychosocial interventions, detoxification and quitting programs, pharmacological treatment, breastfeeding and maternal substance use, and management of infants exposed to alcohol and other psychoactive substances. The document also features a comprehensive review of the evidence behind the recommendations.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Prenatal Care and Education Risk Assessment
Approaches:
Benchmarks:
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
ACNM encourages CNMs, CMs, and other professionals who provide care for reproductive-aged women to routinely use evidence-based strategies to prevent alcohol exposed pregnancy, including:
–Conduct universal alcohol screening and appropriate follow-up at least annually for all adults. For pregnant women, screen at the initial prenatal visit and during each trimester thereafter.
–Be aware of state reporting laws and potential practice implications regarding the use of ICD-10 codes to indicate alcohol use during pregnancy if recording alcohol exposure in the prenatal problem list.
–Provide education about the potentially harmful effects of alcohol on a developing fetus
–Advise use of effective contraception to prevent pregnancy; if the woman is not using contraception consistently, advise her to consider abstaining from alcohol use.
–Encourage women who are attempting to become pregnant to abstain from alcohol.
–Provide a brief behavioral intervention and appropriate follow-up plan for those who screen positive for symptoms or dependency, including a referral to specialty services as needed.
In addition,CNMs and CMs should seek information and training to enhance their knowledge and build theclinical skills needed to address alcohol use with women, especially those of reproductive age.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Prenatal Care and Education
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health
Benchmarks:
Well Woman Visits
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
This policy statement from the AAP advocates a public health response to the opioid epidemic and substance use during pregnancy, and recommends: a focus on preventing unintended pregnancies and improving access to contraception; universal screening for alcohol and other drug use in women of childbearing age; knowledge and informed consent of maternal drug testing and reporting practices;improved access to prenatal care, including opioid replacement therapy; gender-specific substance use treatment programs;and improved funding for social services and child welfare systems.
Topics:
Alcohol/Drug Services Prenatal Care and Education
Approaches:
Improve Women's Health
Benchmarks:
Reproductive Life Plan Well Woman Visits
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
This is a comprehensive source of information on the risks of exposure to lead during pregnancy and lactation. It contains detailed information on sources of lead exposure in adults, and known risks of lead on the mother, developing fetus, and infant. Sample screening tools for assessing possible exposure, and information on management of women found to have elevated lead levels are also included.
Topics:
Breastfeeding Prenatal Care and Education Risk Assessment
Approaches:
Benchmarks:
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
For nearly all infants, breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition and immunologic protection, and it provides remarkable health benefits to mothers as well. Many mothers in the United States want to breastfeed, and most try. Yet within only three months after giving birth, more than two thirds of breastfeeding mothers have already begun using formula. By six months postpartum, more than half of mothers have given up on breastfeeding. This Call to Action describes specific steps people can take to participate in a society-wide approach to support mothers and babies who are breastfeeding. It provides recommendations for women and families, communities, health care providers, employers, public health agencies, and researchers.
Topics:
Breastfeeding Prenatal Care and Education
Approaches:
Promote Quality
Benchmarks:
Initiating Breastfeeding Sustaining Breastfeeding
Evidence Rating:
III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.
