Empowering Families

Reach Out and Readprograms and the locally developed ReadNPlayfor a Bright Future program to improve language skills in young children, engage families in pediatric care, and foster resilience in children (and their health care providers!).  Caring for Motherhood is a new component of the program aimed at preventing maternal mortality, or deaths in mothers during pregnancy and the year after delivery.

Potential complications of antenatal drug exposure to substances like opiates, methamphetamines, marijuana, and other substances include medical, developmental, behavioral, legal, and family issues. A team of health care professionals and community partners are working together to evaluate a program called Baby Steps to improve outcomes in children and families affected by antenatal drugs.

The goals of the Baby Steps program are to:

1. Improve care throughout the perinatal and early childhood period and provide access to a pediatric medical home for children.
2. 
   Ensure comprehensive health, developmental, and behavioral screenings and follow-ups.
3. 
   Prevent and mitigate the effects of ACEs and build resilience.
4. 
   Provide education and support to parents and caregivers.

This presentation for the ETSU Maternal and Child Health Research Collaborative provides details of this program.

The HHS Maternal-Child Health (MCH) Emergency Planning toolkit is designed to improve the capacity of health care, public health, and social services professionals to address maternal and child health in emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities.

The toolkit, built with federal MCH experts and partners, outlines basic planning steps, highlights key resources and promising practices, and explains critical data and information to be integrated into emergency planning for MCH populations.

This toolkit provides guidance and advice to address the needs of women who are pregnant, postpartum, and/or lactating and typically developing infants and young children in emergencies.

PRAMS Questionnaires