Blog

In a recent nightmare, 8-year-old Jovina dreamt that her father got COVID-19. He was getting sicker, but she and her mother weren’t able to get there in time. “There,” in her father’s case, is a cell at the California Correctional Center (CCC) in Susanville, California, nearly 300 miles from where she lives in San Jose. In Jovina’s mind are a swarm of worries about her father’s welfare, her mother Benee Vejar reports. If an earthquake shakes the Bay Area, Jovina says, “What if the building...

JustBirth Space is free, virtual support in the palm of your hand. The platform offers responsive and compassionate perinatal support through text and video chat, as well as virtual support groups and classes for moms, pregnant people and families all free of charge. JustBirth Space’s team of Connectors includes community-based doulas, lactation consultants, childbirth educators and postpartum experts–all providing warm, welcoming, and responsive support that is inclusive and safe for all...

Becky Antle, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and esteemed University Scholar at the University of Louisville, won The Dibble Institute’s national competition to evaluate Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience in 2019. As a result, Dr. Antle and her colleagues have conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of Mind Matters on a host of outcomes related to trauma symptoms, emotional regulation, coping and resiliency, and interpersonal skills for at-risk...

Head over to MCH Navigator and check out the Training spotlight. You will find customized learning opportunities based on seven characteristics of the resilient individual framework.

By Giles Bruce, Center for Health Journalism, August 19, 2021 For some time now, early childhood experts have acknowledged that the first few years of a child’s life are critical for neurological development, and that growing up in a stressful environment can actually change the structure of the budding brain . Now researchers are increasingly finding that the human brain is shaped — quite literally, in some instances — by external forces while it is still in utero. “We really need to...

By Heather Tirado Gilligan, California Health Care Foundation, August 9, 2021 Throughout her pregnancy, Altagracia Mejía was nagged by feelings of anxiety and depression. Mejía, who lives in the Panorama City neighborhood of Los Angeles, gave birth to her daughter Alexa in September 2020. Within two months, the new mother’s feelings shifted to thoughts of suicide. “In my most lucid moments, I ask myself over and over again what is happening to me ,” Mejía told Los Angeles Times reporter...

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...

We are in a historic moment of trauma in the United States. How do we face these things fully, let in the devastation, and then both heal and act? Can we navigate through this toward healing? Toward racial, economic, and gender justice? Can we use this moment to alter the trajectory of climate change toward sustainability? Somatics and neuroscience reveal that we have inherent needs as humans—safety, belonging and dignity. We have essential material needs too, like healthy food and clean...

By Heather C. Forkey and James H. Duffee, American Academy of Pediatrics, July 26, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic and our nation’s racial reckoning have given new visibility to trauma and its impact on children. Even before the pandemic, it was understood that the most fundamental threats to health have their roots in adversities experienced by children without sufficient buffering of a caregiver. Behavior, development, relationships and physical health can be affected for a lifetime due to the...

By Julia Weis, ¡Salud America!, July 20, 2021 A new method is emerging to help children heal from trauma – art therapy. More mental health clinics, like the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas , are beginning to use art to help children with the healing process. Mental health professionals hope that art therapy can help children process adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which is growing to be a public health crisis . “Art therapy helps one process emotions and feelings that one...

A Child's Early Experiences & Brain Development As a primary care provider, promoting strong parent-child relationships and positive parenting behaviors is critical to your role. Research tells us that a child's early experiences, and the environment in which they are raised, dramatically affect how the brain, and thus the child, develops. See the following clip to learn more about early brain development from expert Dan Siegel, MD: From the Keystones of Development Secure Attachment...

Throughout the pandemic, many people have experienced poor mental health , with over 30% of adults in the U.S. reporting symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, up from 11% of adults prior to the pandemic. Negative mental health outcomes have also affected children and adolescents ; over 20% of school-aged children have experienced worsened mental or emotional health since the pandemic began. This increase in mental health conditions comes at a time when mental health resources are...