As 2019 draws to a close, we’re sharing an update on policies and public programs that impact children’s health outcomes. We’ve included breastfeeding legislation passed over the summer, important legislation to watch in the coming months, and insights on vital public programs and funding needs for fiscal year 2020.

Social emotional development, which begins in infancy, helps children learn to understand their emotions and sustain positive relationships with others. When pediatric providers partner with families to co-create goals to support their children’s social emotional development, in the same way they do to promote children’s overall health and wellness, children thrive.

Over the past decade, improvements in sleep-related infant deaths have stagnated. Now, four national action teams are working together to drive measurable change in four priority areas: Aligning National, State and Local Efforts; Promoting Conversation Modules; Supporting Early Child Care and Education; and Public Media and Media Relations. 

In honor or our 20th anniversary, we're sharing insights, memories and goals from the NICHQ team. Here, NICHQ Associate Project Director Sandra Windland shares how her love for sports and interest in Kinesiology sparked her passion for public health.

Two counties in southeast Kansas are streamlining early childhood systems to ensure effective developmental screenings and referrals to supportive services to improve children’s developmental health outcomes.

Breastfeeding peer support networks run for and by Black women fill a gap in breastfeeding support for Black women—a gap largely created by historic and systemic inequities. Here, Khadija Garrison Adams, co-founder of Black Lactation Circle (BLaC) of Central Ohio, shares how their community is empowering black pregnant and nursing mothers to meet their breastfeeding goals.