Tagged With "Adult Child"
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A Chaotic Week for Pregnant Women in New York City (The New Yorker)
By Emily Bobrow, April 1, 2020, for The New Yorker Early on Sunday, March 22nd, Lauren Pelz got a text from a friend who’d heard that the NewYork-Presbyterian (N.Y.P.) hospital network had decided to bar partners from accompanying women in labor, due to concerns about the spread of covid -19 . It was the day before Pelz was scheduled to be induced to deliver her second child at N.Y.P. Lower Manhattan Hospital. She searched the hospital’s Web site and Twitter feed for news about the change in...
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A community-based approach to supporting substance exposed newborns and their families
This information brief highlights a community-based approach to supporting families and newborns affected by substance use. MA EfC developed this brief to address the profound intersection between the Massachusetts opioid crisis, Federal mandates for the development of Plans of Safe Care for substance exposed newborns, and, the MA EfC focus on increasing social connectedness as a means to reduce child maltreatment.
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Addicts Among Us - a hopeful documentary about ACEs and addiction in Humboldt County, California (YouTube Video)
Addicts Among Us is a hour-long documentary investigating the connection between childhood trauma in Humboldt County and the region’s skyrocketing addiction rates. Addiction experts have zeroed in on adverse childhood experiences as a cause for addictive behavior. By examining local lives and stories, KEET examines this connection and efforts in the community to see this addressed. The associate producer of the video, James Faulk - one of the central interviewees of the film - attended First...
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‘Becoming a mother broke me’: For a woman collecting pandemic postpartum stories, the work is personal (Washington Post)
By Theresa Vargas, March 25, 2020, Washington Post Ariane Audet grows quiet on the phone. She is usually the one posing questions about motherhood, and now, she’s not sure how to answer one I’ve asked her. What do you think would have happened if you had to give birth now? She stays silent for so long that I glance at my phone’s screen to make sure we didn’t get disconnected. “I’m afraid to say it,” she finally says. “But I don’t know if I would still be alive.” Three years ago, Audet gave...
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California Border Healthy Start (CBHS+)
Healthy Start offers free and confidential parenting education and support for families in Central and East San Diego. Health educators (“patient navigators”) who are highly trained in perinatal support and case management provide home-based visits for families from the time they are pregnant until their child is 2 years old. Our goals are to empower parents as their children’s best teachers and advocates, stimulate and support early child development through healthy and nurturing...
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CenteringParenting Recognized as Innovative Pediatric Intervention in New Report from The Center for the Study of Social Policy [globenewswire.com]
By Vandana Devgan, Centering Healthcare Institute, November 15, 2019 Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI) is honored to share that its pediatric group care model CenteringParenting®, has been recognized by The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) as an innovative pediatric intervention in its latest study. "Fostering Social and Emotional Health: Common Threads to Transform Everyday Practice and System" , released as part of the Pediatrics Supporting Parents (PSP) initiative, shares...
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Childbirth Can be Another Source of Trauma for Women Who Were Abused [irishtimes.com]
By Arlene Harris, The Irish Times, February 7, 2020 While it may be an innate and mainly joyful event, many pregnant women feel anxious at the thought of going through labour and can suffer emotional and physical distress during the delivery itself. And there is one group of women for whom there is an extra level of trauma associated with the arrival of their unborn child – those who have been victims of sexual assault. Hazel Larkin is a sexual abuse survivor and over the coming months will...
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Consequences of Military Sexual Trauma for Perinatal Mental Health: How Do We Improve Care for Pregnant Veterans with a History of Sexual Trauma?
Sharing our recent editorial which includes a call for TIC in maternity care: "Nevertheless, there are ways in which VA may be able to augment the maternity care pregnant veterans receive to empower and facilitate more trauma-informed approaches to obstetric care. These include investing in programs to ensure peer support, possibly through use of mobile health technology; facilitating collaboration with maternity care providers through provision of handheld/electronic maternity records...
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Effects of Preterm Birth
A baby born prematurely often spends that crucial time for attachment and development of neural pathways in the NICU
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Family First Scholarships for 21st Annual Families and Fathers Conference
21st Annual Families and Fathers National Conference February 24-27, 2020 Hilton Los Angeles Airport 5711 West Century Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90045 I am honored to announce The Family First Scholarship supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a Title Sponsor and State of California First 5 as a Co-Sponsor for the 21 st Annual Families and Fathers Conference, Next Level 2020! the terms "putting family first" and "it takes a village to raise a child" parallels with why we have...
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How to Help a Child Struggling With Anxiety [npr.org]
By Cory Turner, National Public Radio, October 29, 2019 Childhood anxiety is one of the most important mental health challenges of our time. One in five children will experience some kind of clinical-level anxiety by the time they reach adolescence, according to Danny Pine, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the world's top anxiety researchers. Pine says that for most kids, these feelings of worry won't last, but for some, they will —...
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New ROOTS, Beyond Medicalization: Midwives and Maternity Care in America (Jewish Healthcare Foundation)
By Alyce Palko, April 30, 2020, Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Introducing the Jewish Healthcare Foundation's new ROOTS publication, Beyond Medicalization: Midwives and Maternity Care in America . Under the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is rapidly moving into a new era of healthcare delivery. Across the country, maternal healthcare policies are changing daily in order to ensure birthing families have access to safe care. Hospitals are making rapid decisions about whether birthing...
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Nurturing Children During Times of Stress: A Guide to Help Children Bloom by Yolo CAPC and YCCA
The Yolo County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) and Yolo County Children’s Alliance (YCCA) are excited to share Nurturing Children During Times of Stress: A Guide to Help Children Bloom. This guide for parents and caregivers, which we are launching during Child Abuse Prevention Month, contains tips and resources that parents and caregivers can use to promote resilience in their children and themselves. Nurturing Children During Times of Stress explains the effects of intense stress or...
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Obstetric Violence: The Silent Epidemic in Egypt’s Maternal Health System [Egyptian Streets]
I am certain every one of you can think of a pregnant mother who did not have her husband in the delivery room, couldn’t eat or drink at the hospital, was given an epidural, had to labor on her back and probably ended up meeting her baby via C-section without fully understanding the medical need for it. Obstetric violence is a systemic and institutional problem. It is so engrained in our social practices and health systems here in Egypt that we think it’s the norm; but in reality, this is an...
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The Benefits of Paid Maternity Leave for Maternal and Child Health (Psychology Today)
By Richa Bhatia, MD, March 11, 2020, Psychology Today New research reviews the benefits of maternity leave. About 23 percent of employed women in the U.S. return to work within 10 days of giving birth. An evidence-based review published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry earlier this week, which was authored by my team and I, shows that paid maternity leave is linked with significant physical and mental health benefits for mothers as well as their children. [ Please click here to read the...
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Through a Trauma Lens: The Need for Doulas
Trigger warning: trauma, doctors, hospital, birth, sex It is very important to me to approach all of the work that I do from a trauma-informed perspective. Whether it is asking for consent before touching a student in yoga class, offering self-regulation skills to those I work with, or preparing clients for potential triggers*, I do my best to incorporate my on-going learning in the field of trauma into my professional practices. Recently, I began taking trauma classes for professionals...
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Trauma-Informed Care as a Universal Precaution: Beyond the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire [jamanetwork.com]
By Nicole Racine, Teresa Killam, and Sheri Madigan, JAMA Pediatrics, November 4, 2019 Experiences of childhood adversity are common, with more than 50% of adults reporting having experienced at least 1 adversity as children and more than 6% exposed to 4 or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). There is currently a controversial debate in the medical field as to whether the ACEs questionnaire, which asks about abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction before age 18 years, should be...
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UNDOING HARM: plastic surgeons tackle reconstruction for circumcised women [Sarasota Herald Tribune]
She called it her “deepest, darkest secret,” one she had never even shared with her husband. When Saffiatu Sillah was growing up in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, a ritual circumcision left her with scar tissue that caused pain with pain during sex and agony during childbirth. After her second child was born, Sillah, a pharmacist then living in Philadelphia, searched for medical help. To read the full article, written by Pam Belluck and Maddie McGarvey of the NYT, click click HERE
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We Have to Better Understand What Foster Parents Need [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Ross Hunter, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 11, 2019 As a new leader in the child welfare space, I thought it would be worth my while to do some listening before I made any big changes. So I went on a tour all over the state of Washington. I talked to caseworkers, foster parents, birth families, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and anyone else I could find who had an opinion. I got an earful. “Everything is broken.” “I had a great experience.” “The caseworker never called...
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We Need to Help Relatives Navigate Their Child Welfare Options [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jenny Keefe and Nikeyah Flagg, The Chronicle of Social Change, November 21, 2019 A new data project focusing on foster care capacity has illustrated a growing reality across the nation’s child welfare system: relatives are increasingly stepping up to provide care for children removed from their parents. The newly released data, compiled and analyzed by The Chronicle of Social Change, shows that the most recent surge in youth entering foster care is over. It also finds that a majority of...
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Where You're Born Even Within a Country Still Matters [npr.org]
By Pien Huang, National Public Radio, October 22, 2019 Better vaccines, nutrition and disease control have cut the global death rate for children in half over the past 20 years. But even within countries that have made major progress, children can face greatly different fates. "Where you're born substantially impacts your probability of surviving to 5," says Simon Hay, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington who is the lead author of a new study on childhood mortality in Nature.
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Why reducing a pregnant woman’s toxic stress can improve the health of her unborn child
PBS NEWSHOUR: Researchers are trying to better understand the biology of stress and its impact on child health. Now, data suggests those connections may form as early as the womb, with studies indicating frequent and prolonged adversity for pregnant women can affect the development of their babies. Stephanie Sy reports on a program aimed at easing the stress and struggles of mothers and their unborn children. ...
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ACEs Research Corner — May 2020
[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site -- abuseresearch.info -- that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Williams AB, Smith ER, Trujillo MA, et. al. Common health problems in safety-net primary care: Modeling the roles of trauma history and mental health. J Clin...
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Experts Fear Increase in Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders [nytimes.com]
By Pooja Lakshmin, The New York Times, May 27, 2020 After going through a harrowing bout of postpartum depression with her first child, my patient, Emily, had done everything possible to prepare for the postpartum period with her second. She stayed in treatment with me, her perinatal psychiatrist, and together we made the decision for her to continue Zoloft during her pregnancy. With the combination of medication, psychotherapy and a significant amount of planning, she was feeling confident...
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Certified Lactation Specialist Program Beyond the Basics: Effectively Assisting Breastfeeding Mothers
We are going to have a small Lactation Specialist Program July 31st- Aug 2nd. Better Beginnings has offered us a limited number of scholarships to help cover the expenses of the students. We will be sitting 6 ft apart, in a well ventilated room, and will only have 10 students total. If you know someone who is interested, please have them call me! Rosanne Gephart CNM, MSN, IBCLC With Child Breastfeeding Support 5263 Beaumont Way - Santa Rosa, CA 95409 707-327-6911 *Please see attached for...
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1 in 100 Women May Possess a Genetic Variant That Makes Labor Less Painful (Genomics Research)
By Molly Campbell, July 22, 2020, Science Writer, Technology Networks. Pain is a complex phenomenon Delivering a child is a complex and subjective experience that is different for every woman; there are various options for delivery methods, delivery locations, approaches to breathing and so on. Regardless of these different variables, childbirth is widely recognized as ranking highly on the pain rating scale compared to other life experiences, and the fear of such pain can discourage women...
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COVID-19 amplifies racial disparities in maternal health Advocates, lawmakers are working to make changes to curb maternal deaths (rollcall.com)
By Sandhya Raman, May 14, 2020, rollcall.com. Days before her death, Amber Isaac tweeted about her negative experiences receiving pregnancy care at her local hospital in the Bronx. Isaac, a 26-year-old black woman pregnant with her first child, raised concerns about "incompetent doctors." She worried about her low platelet count and felt her concerns were not being heard at Montefiore Medical Center, where her mother Renita Isaac has worked for 25 years, her partner Bruce McIntyre told CQ...
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Accountability Breakfast 2020 - Free!
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Experiences of breastfeeding during COVID‐19: Lessons for future practical and emotional support (Journal of Maternal & Child Nutrition)
By Amy Brown & Natalie Shenker , First published: 23 September 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13088 The COVID‐19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown and social distancing led to changes to breastfeeding support available to women in the United Kingdom. Face‐to‐face professional support was reduced, and face‐to‐face peer support was cancelled. Anecdotal media accounts highlighted practices separating some mothers and babies in hospitals, alongside inaccurate stories of the safety of...
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Free 2020 Virtual Trauma-Informed Care Conference
Each year, STAR hosts a Trauma-Informed Care Conference to help educate the next generation of leaders and build a strong network of Trauma-Informed professionals in the state of Georgia. The conference will be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 10:00am- 1:00pm EST and Sunday, October 4th , 2020 from 2:00pm-5:00pm EST conducted virtually via Zoom.
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In Her Words: Managing Mental Health [nytimes.com]
By Corinne Purtill, The New York Times, October 10, 2020 Over the course of her pregnancy, a woman receiving medical care in the United States can expect to be stuck with needles and prodded with ultrasound wands, to be asked to pee in countless cups and to gamely submit to any testing, measuring, monitoring or poking that might yield data on her body or the fetus. When it comes to mental health, however, the medical care juggernaut comes to a screeching halt. In the United States, many...
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New Resource: Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic One-Pager (English & Spanish!)
English: The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s (CDSS/OCAP) , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative , ACEs Connection , and the Yolo County Children’s Alliance have co-created a newly developed resource, “Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic” in both English and Spanish. This material is intended for Californian families experiencing the severe...
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Effects of prenatal mindfulness-based childbirth education on child-bearers' trajectories of distress: a randomized control trial (BMC Pregnancy Childbirth)
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth . 2020; 20: 623. Published online 2020 Oct 15. doi: 10.1186/s12884-020-03318-8 . Abstract Background: The perinatal period is a time of immense change, which can be a period of stress and vulnerability for mental health difficulties. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise for reducing distress, but further research is needed to identify long-term effects and moderators of mindfulness training in the perinatal period. Methods: The current study used data...
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SAVE THE DATE - DECEMBER 2020 WEBINAR: "Supporting Patients in Pregnancy: ACEs and Maternal Health" [acesaware.org]
"Supporting Patients in Pregnancy: ACEs and Maternal Health" 1.0 Continuing Medical Education/Maintenance of Certification Credit Available* Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Noon – 1 p.m. Register for the Webinar This webinar will provide information for women’s health providers about the importance of ACE screening in improving maternal and child health. Speakers will share resources for providers looking to introduce ACE screening in their practice, examples of how to create a healing...
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My ACEs Affected My Birth
High blood pressure. In your third trimester of pregnancy, you do not want to hear these three words, especially if you are planning to have a home birth. My blood pressure nearly caused me to have an induction for my first birth and transfer to a hospital birth for my second birth. I wish I had known of the ACEs test so I wouldn't have felt so lost and guilty. For my first birth I was clueless. I did not understand why this was happening to me because I ate a healthy diet, went to boxing...
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A Better Normal Friday, March 26, 2021: PACEs and HOPE with Dr. Christina Bethell
Please join us for our next installment of A Better Normal, our live webinar series in which we imagine and create our society as trauma-informed! You may have seen we changed our name recently from ACEs Connection to PACEs Connection. Please join us to learn all about the groundbreaking research of Positive Childhood Experiences and how this is going to transform the work we are all doing. >>Click here to register<< PACEs and HOPE Live Event Friday, March 26, 2021 Noon PT / 1pm...
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Spreading the Stories of Joyful Black Births [chcf.org]
By Xenia Shih Bion, California Health Care Foundation, August 5, 2021 When Kimberly Seals Allers delivered her first child at a top-rated New York City hospital 21 years ago, her wishes were ignored by doctors and nurses. Feeling disrespected and voiceless, she decided to confront the causes and to advocate for equity in pregnancy and childbirth for Black mothers and birthing people.* A journalist by trade, Seals Allers is author of three books on pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding; a...
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Review of “First 60 Days” booklet: Leveraging author’s work and movement could spark revolution to prevent and heal trauma, one precious baby, child, and caregiver at a time.
(This is a review of what I believe is an important new resource for the PACEs [for positive and adverse childhood experiences] science movement. Opinions expressed are my own, and are shared as a parent, advocate, author, and longtime student of trauma, healing, and prevention. Thoughts are also shared through my lens as someone who believes, deeply, in the incredible importance of and value in building healthier, more compassionate communities to support and nurture pregnant and new...
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What Children Really Need Is Adults That Understand Development
The brain doesn’t fully develop until about the age of 25. This fact is sometimes quite surprising and eye opening to most adults. It can also be somewhat overwhelming for new parents and professionals who are interacting with babies and young children every day, to contemplate. It is essential to realize however, that the greatest time of development occurs in the years prior to kindergarten. And even more critical to understand is that by age three 85 percent of the core structures of the...
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Early Relational Health Innovators Partner In Program Supported by PACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities Members in Twelve California Counties
Christina Bethell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, founder of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), principal author of the groundbreaking study on positive childhood experiences, and creator of the free Well Visit Planner, among other innovations. Two internationally-respected leaders and innovators in complementary aspects of early relational health and childhood and maternal health equity recently launched a partnership they believe will benefit everyone from newborn babies and...
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Empathy: Can It Make The Difference?
Emotion has an enormous impact on imprinting memory in our brains. I had an experience when I was 6 years old that included emotion and I have the memory of it all of these many years later. It was a 6 year old birthday sleepover party. There were 7 girls invited that lived near each other and played together most days. A girl new to the neighborhood was invited only due to the requirement of the birthday girl’s mother. I was also invited. I lived a block away but did play with these girls...
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Tender Love: A Somatic Approach to Trauma-Informed Birthwork
For non-clinical perinatal care professionals, birthwork is not just a job, but a calling to help others on their path to parenthood. Doulas, childbirth and lactation educators, and newborn care specialists dedicate themselves to the well-being of their clients. But this commitment comes with challenges that can be tough to overcome, such as punishing schedules, vicarious trauma, and a sense of powerlessness in their working environments. To address these realities in the perinatal care...