S2, E3 Show Notes

EPISODE 3 SUMMARY: On this edition of Before Birth and Beyond, we discuss Care mapping and other strategies and tools to support the transition from pediatric to adult care for children and youth with special healthcare needs. Care mapping is a process that guides and supports the ability of families and care professionals to work together to achieve the best possible health outcomes. Tune in as we explore the benefits of care mapping for improving communication with providers, patients, and caregivers.

Main Story: Benefits of Care Mapping for Providers, Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs, and Caregivers

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Care mapping is one of a variety of tools and strategies health professionals, can recommend to improve the process of transition from pediatric to adult care for children and youth with special health care needs. The Florida Children’s Medical Services Learning and Action Network (FL CMS LAN), led by NICHQ in partnership with the Florida Department of Health, recently focused quality improvement efforts on various areas of transition from pediatric to adult care. On this episode, we're joined by Sandra Widland, NICHQ project director, Linda Starnes, Florida Children's Medical Services Title V Statewide Family Leader, and Elsie Garcia, FL CMS LAN Craniofacial Statewide Networks for Access and Quality Family Partner.

RELATED LINKS:

• Care Mapping: A How-To Guide for Patients and Families
• Care maps: De-medicalizing children with medical complexity
• Enhanced Support During and After Transition from Pediatric to Adult Care Needed for People Living with Sickle Cell Disease
• Preparing Children with Special Healthcare Needs for Transition of Care
• Improving Transitions in Care Saves Lives
• GOT Transition

Why I Work in MCH

Gabe Soto has served as NICHQ’s Accounts Payable Coordinator since 2022. Gabe, who recently expanded his family, shares how working at NCHQ has impacted his parenting experience and offers advice to MCH organizations seeking to create more initiatives dedicated to supporting fathers and partners in honor of Men's Health Month.

Learn more about Ana and the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

S2, E3 Show Notes

EPISODE 3 SUMMARY: Recognize National Minority Health Month with NICHQ! This year's theme is: Be the Source for Better Health: Improving Health Outcomes Through Our Cultures, Communities, and Connections. Tune in to our latest episode to hear from Kimberly Seals Allers, creator of the IRTH app who shares how IRTH works with communities and hospitals to improve health care quality for Black and brown women and birthing people.

Main Story: Empowering Black and Brown Women to Share their Experiences of Care

SEGMENT SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, we sit down with Kimberly Seals Allers, creator of the IRTH app, to discuss the importance of collecting and sharing data to transform the health system and mprove the experience of care for women and birthing people in Black and brown communities.

TAKE ACTION: Download the IRTH app – Apple | Google Play

RELATED LINKS:

• Learn more about the IRTH app
• Explore resources from IRTH

Why I Work in MCH
This month, we’re joined by Dana West, Ph.D., Associate Project Director of Equity, who shares how her upbringing and research in sexual and gender minorities led her to a focus on health equity and maternal and child health.

Learn more about Ana and the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

S2, E2 Show Notes

EPISODE 1 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, celebrate World Doula Week with NICHQ as we discuss the ways doula support improves maternal and child health outcomes and patient and family engagement with LaToshia Rouse CD/PCD(DONA), owner of Birth Sisters Doula Services. Rouse currently serves as the Patient and Family Engagement Co-Chair of the National Network for Perinatal Quality Collaboratives Executive Committee and joined NICHQ’s Board of Directors in March 2022.

Main Story: Doula Services Improve Maternal and Birth Outcomes

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Celebrate World Doula Week with NICHQ! Studies examining the impact of continuous support by doulas report significant reductions in cesarean births, instrumental vaginal births, need for oxytocin augmentation, and shortened durations of labor. In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, we discuss the ways doula support improves maternal and child health outcomes and patient and family engagement.

TAKE ACTION: Join NICHQ in celebrating World Doula Week

RELATED LINKS:

• READ | Doula Support Improves Maternal and Child Health Outcomes, Patient and Family Engagement
• VIDEO ON DEMAND | NICHQ's 3/27 Doula Webinar

EQUITY: Join NICHQ for, "The Equity Exchange" Reproductive Justice + Black Feminism

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Join NICHQ for a virtual event in honor of Black Maternal Health Week 2024. The Equity Exchange, held on April 16 from 1-2 PM EDT, will focus on reproductive justice and Black feminism. This year's official theme “Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!” focuses on widespread restrictions on abortion care access coupled with rising cases of criminalization due to pregnancy loss continue to widen the gaps of adverse maternal and birth outcomes in the U.S.

TAKE ACTION: Register for the upcoming The Equity Exchange

RELATED LINKS:

• REGISTER | NICHQ's Equity Engagement Hub
• WATCH | The Equity Exchange: The State of DEI + The Equity Systems Continuum

Why I Work in MCH

This month, we’re joined by Tatiana Egbuna, NICHQ Project Coordinator for the Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project, who shares how she utilizes her expertise with patient and family engagement, gained through her training as a certified doula, to better support grantees and project participants.

Learn more about Ana and the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

EPISODE 1 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, celebrate Black History Month with NICHQ as we recognize the contributions of Black health practitioners from an equity-focused organization focused on training Black women and birthing people and providing direct services such as lactation support, prenatal and postpartum visits, continuous labor and birth support, and more.

Main Story: Black History Month
SEGMENT SUMMARY: We’re kicking off our new season by celebrating Black History Month and the legacy and contributions of Black health practitioners to the maternal and child health field. Mamatoto Village is a DC-based organization devoted to serving Black women by creating career pathways in maternal health and providing accessible perinatal support services that equip families with the resources to birth and parent on their terms.

TAKE ACTION: Join NICHQ in celebrating Black History Month, and learn more about NICHQ projects dedicated to improving perinatal health for all mothers and birthing people nationwide.

RELATED LINKS:

• Learn more about Mamatoto Village.
• Project Website: National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives
• Project Website: Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project
• Project Website: New York State Birth Equity Improvement Project

EQUITY: NICHQ Launches New Virtual Event Series, "The Equity Exchange"

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Last month NICHQ launched, The Equity Exchange: Innovation in Reproductive Care and Child Health, a virtual event series dedicated to exchanging innovative ideas, learning and discussing emerging theories, and sharing resources and tools on topics related to equity in maternal and child health. Listen for a highlight from our first Exchange, focused on the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2024.

TAKE ACTION: Join NICHQ in celebrating Black History Month, and learn more about NICHQ projects dedicated to improving perinatal health for all mothers and birthing people nationwide.

RELATED LINKS:

• Register for NICHQ's Equity Engagement Hub
• WATCH | The Equity Exchange: The State of DEI + The Equity Systems Continuum
• Equity Systems Continuum Project

Why I Work in MCH
This month, we’re joined by Beverly Reyes, MPH, NICHQ Project Coordinator, who shares her deep passion for equity and health care stemming from her family background and cultural experiences.

Learn more about Ana and the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

S1, E8 Show Notes

EPISODE 7 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, in honor of Prematurity Awareness Month, we're reflecting on the links between maternal and infant health, and the impacts of preterm birth on health outcomes for mothers, birthing people, and babies.

Main Story: Connecting Infant and Maternal Health | Prematurity Awareness Month

SEGMENT SUMMARY: We're joined by NICHQ VP of Equity and Innovation Dr. Stacy Scott, PH.D, MPA, who shares some equity considerations regarding disparate rates of preterm birth, infant mortality, and maternal mortality. We will also hear from Dr. Zsakeba Henderson, MD, FACOG, NICHQ’s senior health advisor, who connects the impact of maternal health on infant health outcomes while shining a light on the U.S. maternal mortality crisis and current policy initiatives that can help reverse maternal mortality trends.

RELATED LINKS:

• Interview Transcript
• NICHQ Campaign: Prematurity Awareness Month 2023
• Related Project: National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives

Why I Work in MCH

This month, NICHQ Web and Product Manager, Dr. Nathanial Ray Pickett, Ph.D., shares his passion for equity, resisting oppression, and giving voice to the voiceless.

Learn more about the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

EPISODE 7 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, in honor of SIDS Awareness Month, for our main story this episode, you can hear the panel discussion from NICHQ's 8/23 webinar focused on equity in safe sleep and breastfeeding messaging, featuring community partners from Babies Born Healthy, Montgomery County, MD, and moderated by Meera Menon, Ph.D., Associate Director of Research and Evaluation, NICHQ.

Main Story: Equity Considerations for Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding Messaging

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Missed NICHQ's webinar, "Their stories are so powerful": Community-based approaches to infant safe sleep and breastfeeding promotion? Listen to the panel discussion featuring community health workers,who share their experiences leading and implementing safe sleep and breastfeeding activities and advice for being more inclusive.

RELATED LINKS:

• NICHQ Webinar: "Their stories are so powerful": Community-based approaches to infant safe sleep and breastfeeding promotion
• Project Page: National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN)
• NICHQ Blog: 3 Lessons from Centering Community Voices: Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding Using a Quality Improvement Framework
• NICHQ Campaign: SIDS Awareness Month 2023

Why I Work in MCH
This month, Callie Rowland, MPH, a project manager on the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives project, shares her passion for working to affect change in systems of care, serving all mothers and children, and working for an organization that aims to help create more equitable systems. Read more

Learn more about the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

S1, E6 Show Notes

EPISODE 6 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, in honor of Sickle Cell Awareness Month, our main story this episode focuses on Sickle Cell Disease. Project staff at NICHQ explore how new treatment options are incorporated into project work, how equity is considered, and what resources and supports are helpful as young people transition from pediatric to adult care.

Main Story: Sickle Cell Awareness Month: Transitioning to College, Equity Considerations, and Resource Sharing

SEGMENT SUMMARY: For our main story in this episode we are joined by NICHQ Director of Project Operations Kim Sprunck, MSW, MPH and Madeline D'Onfro, MPH, Project Manager and contributor for a college guide to transition. Both of our guests work on sickle cell-related projects at NICHQ, and will share more about NICHQ's work and resources providers and families can lean on to support those living with SCD. We'll also hear from TaLana Hughes, a parent of an SCD warrior, about transitioning to adult care. Stay tuned!

RELATED LINKS:

• Interview Transcript
• Project Page: Hemoglobinopathies National Coordinating Center (HNCC)
• NICHQ Blog: 4 Strategies for Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care for People Living with Sickle Cell Disease
• NICHQ Resource: Model Protocol
• NICQ Resource: Compendium of Tools & Resources

Why I Work in MCH

This month, Madelne D'Onfro, MPH, a project manager on the Hemoglobinopathies National Coordinating Center (HNCC) shares her passion for creating systems that protect members of society who are marginalized the most and improving experiences for those with the highest needs.

Learn more about the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.

S1, E5 Show Notes

EPISODE 5 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, In honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, our main story this episode features NICHQ Summer 2023 Communications interns who sit down with NICHQ staff to discuss some of NICHQ's breastfeeding and safe sleep initiatives while highlighting the impact of combining infant safe sleep (ISS) and breastfeeding promotion on the community level. Additionally, we'll spotlight national and NICHQ campaigns and resources to support breastfeeding/chestfeeding equity, and more!

National Breastfeeding Month

SEGMENT SUMMARY: This episode, we’re taking some time to reflect on National Breastfeeding Month, observed in August. Significant racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities exist among sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) and breastfeeding practices in the U.S.

RELATED LINKS:

• NICHQ National Breastfeeding Month Resources
• Natonal U.S. Breastfeeding Committee National Breastfeeding Month 2023 Campaign
• The AAP Policy: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk
• Inclusive Communication Surrounding Childbirth, Lactation, and Infant Feeding

Main Story: Exploring NAPPSS-IIN Project Insights and Future Visions: A Conversation about Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding Initiatives

SEGMENT SUMMARY: For our main story in this episode we are joined by Summer 2023 NICHQ Communications & Digital Strategy interns Amalia Hirschhorn-Martinez and Katie McCormick. They speak with members of the NICHQ team about our upcoming webinar focused on infant safe sleep and breastfeeding messaging and NICHQ’s continued work to ensure health professionals and the communities they serve are supported with the necessary tools and resources to create safe sleeping environments and improve breastfeeding and chestfeeding rates. Stay tuned!

RELATED LINKS:

• Interview Transcript
• 8/23 Webinar Registration
• Project Page: National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN)
• NICHQ Blog: Continuing Conversations Around Breastfeeding and Safe Sleep Promotion

Why I Work in MCH

This month, Danisha Chalres, MPH, a project manager on the Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project shares her passion for addressing inequities in maternal and child health and collaborating with community and professional partners to make improvements.

Learn more about the rest of NICHQ’s team at https://www.nichq.org/about/team.