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Christy Blakely and Elizabeth Aquino both have daughters with special healthcare needs. Both mothers grew accustomed to navigating the halls of hospitals and sidestepping holes in the health system. They know what it’s like to feel as though you are not seen and that, no matter how loudly or urgently you speak, your voices won’t…
Before Tara Bristol Rouse became a NICHQ family partner—a passionate parent advocate for improving children’s health systems—she was a mom. A mom who, in 2004, experienced severe preeclampsia and had to deliver her son 13 weeks before her pregnancy reached term. A mom who spent 83 days after delivery visiting her son in the hospital…
Bringing stakeholders together frequently helps maintain their engagement in an initiative. For one, it gives everyone great insight into what different teams have been working on recently and lets folks “steal shamelessly” from those who are having success. Especially for in-person meetings, it is an opportunity for participants to get to know and meet one…
Across the nation, 43 state and multi-state perinatal quality collaboratives (PQCs) are working to improve health outcomes for moms and babies. Comprised of multidisciplinary teams, PQCs work with clinical teams, experts and stakeholders, including patients and families, to advance evidence-informed clinical practices, reduce variation, optimize resources, and address gaps in perinatal care. Launching and sustaining a…
In recent months, there has been a surge of legislative actions for children’s health advocates. New laws have been passed that provide funding for programs and research initiatives essential for improving the health and well-being of children and families across the country. Here, NICHQ provides an update on the legislation, as well as a brief…
In the United States, six of every 1,000 babies do not live to celebrate their first birthday. This translates to approximately 23,000 babies dying every year. Although more babies are reaching this milestone today than in the past, the U.S. infant mortality rate (IMR) is relatively high when compared to Japan, Canada, and many European…
Over the past decade, hospitals across the country have increasingly moved away from the traditional use of nurseries for healthy newborn infants, choosing instead for babies to “room-in” with mothers so that they are kept together throughout their hospitalization. Among many health benefits to both mom and baby, rooming-in supports mother-child bonding, encourages skin-to-skin contact—which…
The early years of life set the course for a child’s future, laying the groundwork for them to grow and thrive, engage in healthy relationships, and succeed at work and school. Improving health and development for all children during those formative years can advance individual and social outcomes for the next generation. Supporting children in…
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. According to the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), it has increased 25 percent in recent decades. There is an urgent need to reduce these numbers, to identify and…
Over 13 million children live in rural areas and of them, nearly a quarter live in poverty. There is an urgent need to understand and respond to the disparities in health outcomes for this population of children, says NICHQ Chief Health Officer Elizabeth Coté, MD, MPH. “Rural children in poverty are effectively invisible to decision…