Mothers and Babies

Mothers and Babies (MB) is a program that promotes healthy mood management by teaching pregnant women and new moms how to effectively respond to stress in their lives through increasing the frequency of thoughts and behaviors that lead to positive mood states. Designed as a perinatal depression prevention, the Mothers and Babies targets three specific risk factors: limited social support, lack of pleasant activities, and harmful thought patterns. Mothers and Babies offers a “toolkit” of approaches for women to observe their mood, note factors affecting their mood, and make changes in their daily lives to impact these areas. Based on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), attachment theory, and psychoeducation, the Mothers and Babies Course is designed to be delivered by clinic- or community-based providers from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, and can be delivered as a group intervention or as a one-on-one intervention in various settings where pregnant women access services (e.g. prenatal clinics, home visiting programs, WIC programs, County Health Departments, etc.).

Depression Home Visiting Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Mental Health Parenting Education Prenatal Care and Education

Black Mamas Matter: Advancing the Human Right to Safe and Respectful Maternal Health Care

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.

Case Management/Care Coordination Home Visiting Insurance Coverage Life Course Model Patient-centered Medical Home Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning

Ask the Expert: Improving the health of Women, Children and Men: A Primer on Preventive Services Covered Under the Affordable Care Act

Healthy Start programs are an invaluable resource for women, children and men to increase their understanding of the preventive services covered under the Affordable Care Act. For example, did you know that comprehensive breastfeeding support and counseling from trained providers, and access to breastfeeding supplies, for pregnant and nursing women is a covered benefit under Marketplace health plans at no charge to the client? This webinar will provide an overview of the preventive services that are covered for women, children and men. Given the substantial amount of content to cover the webinar has been divided up into three parts. The first webinar will be live. The two subsequent webinars will be recorded and available for listening shortly following the live webinar.

Objectives:

1. Identify the preventative health services for women (Part I), children (Part II), and men (Part III) available with no co-pay and deductible.
2. Describe access points for the service (Parts I – III)
3. Identify models of payments related to these services and how it might affect access and payment for the services (Part III)
4. Define barriers created by some states/insurers to reduce access to some services (Part III).

Webinar Materials:

Home Visiting Life Course Model Nutrition Parenting Education Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Socio-emotional Development for Children STDs including HIV Tobacco Cessation

Family Spirit

Family Spirit is an evidence-based early childhood home-visiting program designed for and by American Indian communities. Family Spirit combines the use of paraprofessionals from the community as home visitors and a culturally focused, strengths-based curriculum as a core strategy to support young families. From pregnancy through the child’s 3rd birthday, parents gain knowledge and skills to promote healthy development and positive lifestyles for themselves and their children. Family Spirit addresses intergenerational behavioral health problems, optimizes local cultural assets, and overcomes deficits in the professional health care workforce in low resource communities. Evidence from three randomized controlled trials has documented important results including: increased parenting knowledge and involvement; decreased maternal depression; increased home safety; decreased emotional and behavioral problems of mothers; and decreased emotional and behavioral problems of children. The Family Spirit curriculum modules cover: Prenatal Care, Infant Care, Your Growing Child, Toddler Care, My Family and Me, and Healthy Living.

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Depression Home Visiting Parenting Education Partner Involvement Prenatal Care and Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning Socio-emotional Development for Children

Trauma Informed Early Childhood Services

The goal of this curriculum is to build New Hampshire’s capacity to provide trauma-informed early childhood services, including childcare, home visiting, early education, and health and mental health services. In doing so, we hope that you engage in trauma-informed care in your own setting and spread the message of trauma-informed care to cross-system partners. This curriculum is divided into four units which include an introduction to Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Services, and then cover the impact of trauma on young children in terms of their neurobiology and development, the screening and interventions used with traumatized children, and reflective practices used to work with caregivers and traumatized young children. Each of these units will help to build your capacity to provide trauma-informed early childhood care. As you complete each unit of the tutorial, you will be asked to submit an online assessment. At the end of Unit 4, you will be able to download a certificate of completion.

Unit 1: Introduction to Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Services

By the end of the unit, learners will be able to:

  1. Define a “traumatic event” for young children
  2. Explain 4 types of trauma
  3. Know the prevalence of trauma in young children
  4. Define trauma-informed care within the context of early childhood services
  5. Understand and value your role in helping young children impacted by trauma
  6. Explore your fears and your concerns about addressing trauma

Unit 2: The Impact of Trauma on Young Children: Neurobiology and Development

By the end of the unit, learners will be able to:

  1. Understand the basic structure and development of the brain as it relates to trauma in young children
  2. Recognize the behavioral signs of an overused fear or stress response system in young children
  3. Understand how sensitization and desensitization of the human stress response system may manifest in the behavior of a young child
  4. Explain the impact of deprivation and neglect on young children and how they may be represented in behavior
  5. Know the primary criteria for diagnoses frequently given to traumatized children
  6. Know the functional impairments often observed in traumatized children
  7. Understand the long-term impact of exposure to trauma on behavior and health outcomes
  8. Understand the role of implicit and explicit memory in trauma and relationships
  9. Understand the concept of neuroplasticity and resilience as it pertains to recovery from trauma

Unit 3: Screening and Intervention with Traumatized Young Children

By the end of the unit, learners will be able to:

  1. Understand the purpose of screening young children for traumatic exposure and symptoms
  2. Understand the limitations of screening measures
  3. Identify opportunities for screening
  4. Identify 2 screening measures for trauma in young children
  5. Know how to introduce screening measures to families
  6. Identify when a referral for mental health treatment is merited
  7. Describe 3 key intervention strategies for traumatized young children
  8. Understand the parallel arousal cycle and know strategies to manage arousal
  9. Appreciate and deploy strength-based approaches to avoid an over-focus on problems
  10. Explain trauma concepts to caregivers

Unit 4: Working with Caregivers and Traumatized Young Children Using Reflective Practice

By the end of the unit, learners will be able to:

  1. Understand the conditions necessary to engage in a reflective relationship
  2. Describe the reasons why reflective practice is important when working with traumatized young children and their caregivers
  3. Intervene in conversation in a way that demonstrates reflective practice skills
  4. Explain the importance of reflection to a caregiver, colleague, or supervisor

Case Management/Care Coordination EBP Implementation Home Visiting Parenting Education Socio-emotional Development for Children

Interconception Care Toolkit

The Interconception Care Toolkit modules are designed to enhance users’ knowledge of interconception health related subjects. There are links to internet resources throughout the Modules to help you learn the content. There are questions and scenarios in each Module which will help you use the information you are learning. At the end of each of the Modules, you will be able to quiz yourselves on what you have learned.

Module 1: The Birds, The Bees, The Plan
Part 1 – Helping Your Clients Plan Their Futures and Their Families
Part 2 – Grasping the Basics of Reproduction
Part 3 – Considering If and When to Become Pregnant Again
Part 4 – From Plan to Action: Finding and Using the Right Contraception

Module 2: Weighty Matters: Understanding and Addressing Postpartum Weight Retention in the Interconception Period

Module 3: Chronic Diseases

Module 4: Poor Perinatal Outcomes

Learning Objectives:

By the end of Module 1 (Parts 1-4) you should be able to:

  1. Describe and address some of the common myths about reproduction and reproductive health
  2. Educate your clients about these myths to decrease risky behaviors
  3. Explain basic sexual anatomy and physiology for males and females
  4. Describe the main differences in how three types of contraception work
  5. Use this information to help your clients understand basic reproduction and that methods used to prevent unintended pregnancies may be different than those to prevent STI transmission
  6. Discuss the risks of unintended pregnancies and short interpregnancy intervals (IPI)
  7. Help your clients consider a reproductive life plan
  8. Discuss reproductive coercion and how it impacts reproductive decision making
  9. Navigate the website bedsider.org
  10. Explain key characteristics of the main types of contraception to your clients
  11. Understand and explain failure rates to clients
  12. Help women/couples choose an appropriate contraceptive method for their reproductive plan and their personal characteristics

By the end of Module 2 you should be able to:

  1. Describe recommended and excess maternal weight gains in pregnancy
  2. Define postpartum weight retention
  3. Identify strategies for discussing and addressing postpartum weight retention with interconception women
  4. Provide evidence-based weight loss/maintenance strategies and resources to your clients

By the end of Module 3 (Parts 1-2) you should be able to:

  1. Explain the differences between chronic diseases that predate a pregnancy and pregnancy conditions that may lead to chronic diseases in the future
  2. Discuss why both are important for a woman’s life course and the health of any future pregnancies
  3. Discuss why the interconception period is an important time to address chronic diseases
  4. Support self-management strategies to interrupt the progression of preexisting and developing chronic diseases

By the end of Module 4 you should be able to:

  1. Discuss major causes of poor pregnancy outcomes and who they are most likely to affect
  2. Discuss some of the common psychological and social impacts of poor pregnancy outcomes for women, partners, and other children
  3. Recognize normal and abnormal stages of grief
  4. Provide basic interconception guidance to women who have experienced one or more of several poor pregnancy outcomes

Chronic Disease Depression EBP Implementation Healthy Weight Home Visiting Life Course Model Parenting Education Reproductive Life Planning/Family Planning STDs including HIV

Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs

AMCHP is a national resource, partner, and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, children, and families, including those with special health care needs. AMCHP’s website includes a calendar of events, policy and advocacy resources, information on  MCH topics, and a searchable database of best practices.

Chronic Disease Community Needs Assessment Cultural Competence EBP Implementation Home Visiting Intimate Partner Violence Life Course Model Patient-centered Medical Home

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