Tag : Maternal Child Health

How my advocacy work became personal

01/06/2020 291

The 2020 legislative session will be my eighth legislative session as a child advocate. The eighth year I will go to the state capitol and work to ensure that children are a top priority for Iowa policymakers. This year is the first year that my advocacy efforts have transitioned from ideological to personal.

Health

Exploring a new use for the Count the Kicks app through fellow connections

12/02/2019 386

Educated and empowered moms are key to saving babies. As we become aware of the powerful work of Iowa ACES 360 and a pilot at Broadlawns in conjunction with EveryStep, we want to study whether our stillbirth prevention tools, like the free Count the Kicks app, can play a role in reducing adverse childhood experiences.

Health

If We are Going to Reduce Trauma and Family Stress, We Have to Start at the Very Beginning

07/31/2019 166

If we know mothers are having significant levels of stress and trauma before their children are born, we must begin community supports prenatally. If we know parental ACEs can influence maternal and child health, we must begin supporting moms prenatally. If we know that historical trauma, implicit bias, and systemic bias are negatively impacting maternal and child health, we must address bias and better support mothers of color prenatally.

For all children in Central Iowa to have equal opportunity for good health, greater attention and resources must be directed to addressing the fundamental causes of poor health for children and youth. These fundamental causes, or social determinants, of health are often largely impacted by public and private, organization, local, state and federal policies and practices.

The Mid-Iowa Health Foundation HealthConnect Fellowship strives to engage and build the capacity of key professionals working to improve social determinants of children's health, and help them grow as public policy change agents to improve children's health in central Iowa.

This HealthConnect Fellowship Blog is intended to share learnings from the Fellows and other national experts with our broader community of children's health advocates.