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DeAndre was born into a neighborhood where drug use was common, and poverty and gang violence were pervasive. He is one of too many children born into circumstances that illustrate why families need better supports and better systems. DeAndre’s grandfather, David Armstrong, is a family partner on the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Collaborative Improvement and Innovation…
Opioid use disorder in pregnancy has increased dramatically across the country in the last decade, bringing with it increased health risks for mothers and babies. Mothers who don’t receive treatment are facing increased pregnancy complications, including increased risk for preterm births and low birth rates, and ultimately, more families are being separated, whether by needed…
Improving children’s health outcomes often relies on supporting and inspiring a behavioral change. This change might be in the population we’re seeking to support (helping pregnant mothers quit smoking) or in the systems we’re seeking to improve (getting buy-in from care teams on an improvement initiative). This change is most effective, and most sustainable, when…
When someone breastfeeds, they release oxytocin, a hormone that soothes anxieties and helps induce a unique emotional connection to their newborn baby. Oxytocin, also known as “the love hormone,” packs a powerful punch that, while supporting healthy breastfeeding, has one potentially dangerous side-effect: it can make people tired. “New mothers are sleep-deprived and understandably stressed,” says…
Mason Archer Weaver was born on Jan. 6, 2017. His nurses nicknamed him “Speedy” because it took just two pushes of labor before he joined the world. It was a beautiful Tennessee winter day with fresh snow falling, recalls his mother Brittanie. “He was six pounds and eight ounces of perfection, with a little bald…
Cases of postpartum hemorrhage are on the rise, occurring in an estimated 3 percent of deliveries in the United States, or more than 100,000 births a year. These are alarming numbers, especially given that postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths. A recent study from the CDC Foundation notes that hospitals may be able to prevent up…
“There’s a gap in our early childhood screening system,” says Dawn Alexander, M. Ed., the Preschool Expansion Coordinator for Delaware’s Colonial School District, one of the place-based communities in the NICHQ-led Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Improvement and Innovation Network (ECCS CoIIN). “My colleagues and I keep seeing 3-year-old children entering pre-school with developmental delays, and…
In 2016 in Mississippi, more than 30 healthy babies died in their sleep from accidental suffocation or strangulation. These numbers reflected an increase from the previous year, despite the promising fact that overall infant mortality rates decreased in the state. “Understanding infant safe sleep practices isn’t always easy; that’s why we need to do more…
Too many children are losing parents and caregivers to a drug that affects millions of Americans every year. Foster care placements have risen alongside opioid use disorder and death rates, and opioid-related neonatal abstinence syndrome has skyrocketed, leaving children as the youngest casualties of a nationwide epidemic. The crisis is especially prevalent in rural and economically…
Quality improvement efforts bring together a host of passionate and talented stakeholders, all seeking sustainable solutions for complex multi-layered problems. Because of their complexity, these initiatives require a leader who can seamlessly manage and motivate their team’s efforts—someone who can inspire others and envision the future while not forgetting about the tasks that need to get done along the way….