A coalition of diverse stakeholders has proven to be a catalyst for early childhood improvement in Chelsea, Massachusetts, helping them align messages, raise awareness, and collect more robust and relevant data. Ready build one in your community? Find out how here.

Preeclampsia, a dangerous disorder where a mother’s blood pressure spikes during pregnancy, is one of the leading causes of maternal and infant illness and death. Here, a mother who lost her baby daughter shares a plea for improvement. 

Over 13 million children live in rural areas and of those 13 million, more than a quarter live in poverty. Here, NICHQ Chief Health Officer Elizabeth Coté, MD, MPH, expands on the urgent need to understand and respond to the disparities in health outcomes for this population of children.

In an increasingly digital age, telelactation support is a powerful opportunity to increase breastfeeding rates among amothers who can't access classes. In addition to over the phone, lactation consultants and counselors can support moms through video chats like Skype, via text message or in online communities.  

A mother-centered approach to caring for NAS may reduce the need for drug treatment and length of hospital stays. Here, Matthew Grossman, MD, one of the authors of the approach, expands on its benefits for improving infant health outcomes. 

Only families truly understand their own unique circumstances and needs, and only families can tell their stories. This is one reason why engaging family partners is critical for any improvement effort. How do we get families to the table though? How do we engage with them meaningfully as equal partners in improvement? Below, we’ve compiled five strategies for partnership shared by our family partners.