S1, E2 Show Notes

EPISODE 2 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, in recognition of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, we had a conversation with NICHQ Associate Director of Research and Evaluation Dr. Meera Menon, and learned more about her experiences navigating her roles as a maternal child health researcher and new mom. We also highlighted maternal and caregiver mental health resources for healthcare professionals and spoke with another NICHQ staff member about why they work in maternal and child health. 

Maternal and Caregiver Depression Resources 

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Though maternal depression is common, many mothers may not know help is available or may be uncomfortable asking for it. CDC research shows about 1 in 8 women with a recent live birth experience symptoms of postpartum depression. Estimates of the number of women affected by postpartum depression differ by age, race/ethnicity, and state, with significant disparities existing for Black and Native-American women in the U.S. 

RELATED LINKS:

• Landing Page: Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month 
• Pathways To Equitable And Antiracist Maternal Mental Health Care: Insights From Black Women Stakeholders (JOURNAL) 
• Perinatal depression screening practices in a large health system: identifying current state and assessing opportunities to provide more equitable care (JOURNAL) 
• CASE STUDIES: Designing Systems to Eliminate the Consequences of Maternal Depression 
• PERINATAL DEPRESSION BROCHURES 
  • Depression & Anxiety During and After Pregnancy Brochure for Moms (EN) 
  • Depression & Anxiety During and After Pregnancy Brochure for Moms (ES) 
  • Depression & Anxiety During and After Pregnancy Brochure for Fathers, Partners, Families and (EN) 
  • Depression & Anxiety During and After Pregnancy Brochure for Fathers, Partners, Families and (EN) 
• Fathers’ Roles in the Care and Development of Their Children: The Role of Pediatricians 
• Promoting Fathers’ Mental Health During Children's Early Childhood 

Main Story: Additional Support, Compassion Needed for Maternal Mental Health

SEGMENT SUMMARY: In a candid conversation NICHQ Associate Director of Applied Research and Evaluation Meera Menon shares some of her lived experiences as a mom and researcher and thoughts about how public health practitioners can hold maternal mental health more compassionately for all new parents, but especially those negatively impacted by social determinants of health. 

RELATED LINKS:

• Interview Transcript
• Project Page: National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN)

Community Q&A

Submit your questions to NICHQ’s network of advisors, faculty, and expansive project experts in maternal and child health, rare disease, and equity. If selected, we’ll invite you to be part of this segment. We look forward to your questions!

https://www.nichq.org/community-qa-ask-expert

Why I Work in MCH

This month we're joined by Beverly Reyes, a project coordinator at NICHQ who shares her deep passion for equity in healthcare, stemming from her family background and cultural experiences. Read a complete profile on Beverly. 

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

S1, Bonus Episode Show Notes

EPISODE SUMMARY: In this bonus episode of Before Birth & Beyond episode, learn about the After Action Review (AAR)– a quality improvement process designed to help teams identify and learn from successes and failures. Hear from members of NICHQ project teams about the ways NICHQ incorporates the After Action Review and its benefits to healthcare professionals and others interested in improving systems. 

• Sandra Widland, MPH, NICHQ Project Director
• Eliza Williamson, Associate Project Director

TAKE ACTION: Read this helpful Guide to the After Action Review. 

RELATED LINKS:

• After Action Review Reflections Worksheet
• Project Website: Florida Children’s Medical Services Learning and Action Network
• Project Website: Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes: Developmental Impact of NICU Exposures (ECHO DINE)

S1, E1 Show Notes

EPISODE 1 SUMMARY: In this episode of Before Birth & Beyond, celebrate Black Maternal Health Week with NICHQ. We host a roundtable discussion among Black maternal health experts, Dr. Keba Henderson, Dr. Stacy Scott, and Stacey Penny. learn about Land Acknowledgements, hear details from a new NICHQ publication, and hear why our staff work in MCH.

Getting Started with Land Acknowledgements: Moving from performative language to meaningful action

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Land acknowledgements can be an important tool for both Natives and non-Natives to facilitate honoring the past and acknowledging its impact on the present – and future. Understand the nuances between offering help vs. shared liberation. Within the organization, create space to have ongoing and meaningful conversations about how teams can integrate land acknowledgements and what additional ideas can be offered to indigenous communities. In addition to knowing about the impact of colonialism on a national level, you should become acquainted in authentic ways with local tribes where you live and work – whether they still reside there or if they consider where you live part of their ancestral homeland.

RELATED LINKS:

• Landing Page: National Museum of the American Indian Land Acknowledgment
• NPR Article (w/audio): So you began your event with an Indigenous land acknowledgment. Now what?
• Article: Research reveals media role in stereotypes about Native Americans

North Dakota Tribal History

• Blog: Cultural Survival: For the Taking: The Garrison Dam and the Tribal Taking Area
• Tribeca Film Guide - Waterbuster. In Waterbuster, old wounds are reopened when director J. Carlos Peinado revisits the upper Missouri River basin in North Dakota in order to come to grips with the death of his grandmother. There he investigates how the massive post-war Garrison Dam project laid waste to an idyllic, self-sufficient Native American community, flooding 156,000 acres of their land.
• Watch Waterbuster

• NICHQ Insight: Supporting Indigenous Families for Improved Health Outcomes 
• NICHQ Landing Page: Land and Language Acknowledgement

Main Story: Black Maternal Health Week Roundtable

SEGMENT SUMMARY: Recently the CDC released 2021 data showing increases in rates of maternal mortality across all age groups and races, as well as persisting disparities, especially among Black women. Listen to our roundtable in honor of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17) featuring these experts in Black maternal health:

• Dr. Zsakeba Henderson, MD FACOG, Senior Health Advisor
• Stacey Penny, MSW, MPH, Sr. Project Director of the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC)
• Dr. Stacy Scott, PhD, MPA, VP of Health Equity Innovation

TAKE ACTION: Join NICHQ in honoring BMMA’s vision by using their social media toolkit and community events to deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health.

RELATED LINKS:

• NICHQ’s Black Maternal Health Week 2023 Campaign
• Project Website: National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives
• Equity Systems Continuum Project
• Project Website: National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN)
• Project Website: Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project

Community Q&A

Submit your questions to NICHQ’s network of advisors, faculty, and expansive project experts in maternal and child health, rare disease, and equity. If selected, we’ll invite you to be part of this segment. We look forward to your questions!

https://www.nichq.org/community-qa-ask-expert

Why I Work in MCH

This month, we’re joined by Ana Franklin, NICHQ’s Development Manager, who shares her personal health journey and how her experience as the adopted child of a retired general health practitioner led to her personal and professional commitment to health equity. 

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