Association of Maternal
& Child Health Programs

AMCHP supports state maternal and child health programs and provides national leadership on issues affecting women and children.
Association of Maternal
& Child Health Programs

Women's Health Info Series 

With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health, AMCHP coordinates with our committees to host a bimonthly conference call series on women’s and perinatal preventive health. Calls showcase promising and evidence-based practices in women’s and perinatal health, highlight federal and national initiatives and resources, and allow discussion of related policy and research. Topics for future calls may include perinatal depression, care coverage and access, substance and tobacco use, physical activity and healthy weight, chronic disease and reproductive health, family violence, HIV, and health disparities. Please see below for audio-recordings and materials from our previous calls. If you have any difficulty accessing these files, please contact Brynn Rubinstein.

Upcoming Call!
November Call- Women and IPV, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health: The Need for an Integrated Response
Thurs., November 20th, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET
Register online.

  • Valerie Edwards, PhD, Research Psychologist, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Investigation and Analytic Methods Branch
  • Maria Tarajano Rodman, Associate Executive Director for Program and Community Developent, Western Massachusetts Training Consortium [bio]

July 2008: Linking MCH and Chronic Disease
Thurs., July 17th, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

 April 2008: Bright Futures for Women’s Health and Wellness: Overview and State Initiatives – Lessons Learned from Implementation in the Field
Thurs., April 24th 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET
Register online.

Resources

 January 2008: National Folic Acid Program - What You Need to Know
Thurs., Jan. 31, 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET

Participants will learn about the efforts of the National Folic Acid Program, including a review of US Public Health Service folic acid recommendations, resources for folic acid counseling, the work of the National Council on Folic Acid, and a pilot migrant farm worker health educator or “promotora” effort.  Participants will also learn about the recent formative research conducted with Spanish-speaking Latinas.

  • Adriane K. Griffen, MPH, CHES, director of Health Promotion and Partnerships for the Spina Bifida Association (SBA)
    Presentation
  • Alina L. Flores, MPH, CHES, health education specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
    Presentation
  • Nicole Oppenheim, MEd, program director/projects manager for Migrant Health Promotion
    Presentation

Resources

 September 2007: Addressing Adolescent Women’s Health from a Lifespan Approach
Adolescence is an ideal period to initiate reproductive planning, as well as a great entry point for preconception care. It is also a key time to prevent behaviors that can have a negative impact on women’s and maternal health, such as smoking, substance abuse, poor eating habits and lack of physical activity. This audio call will focus on the health of adolescent women (10-24 years of age) and the issues of reproductive health surrounding them. Speakers will discuss preconception care, the lifespan approach and applying it to adolescent health, as well as the health of young women on college campuses. Join the call to hear about innovative strategies and to dialogue with colleagues across the country.

  • Holly Grason, MA, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Population, Family and Reproductive Health
    pdf of powerpoint presentation     [need to add presentation]
  • Michael Lu, MD, MPH , Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Associate Director, Child and Family Health Training Program
    pdf of powerpoint presentation [need to add presentation]
  • Nan Streeter, MS, RN, Director, Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, Utah State Department of Health; President, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs pdf of powerpoint presentation [need to add presentation]

Resources:

 July 2007: Promoting Safe Families: Integrating Family Violence Prevention, Assessment and Intervention into State-Level MCH Initiatives – Lessons from the Field

This audio-call will discuss the issue of family violence – its prevalence, its implications for maternal and child health and how state Title V programs can integrate prevention, assessment and intervention into state-level initiatives.  Speakers will include representatives from the Family Violence Prevention Fund as well as representatives from State Title V programs who are currently participating in AMCHP Safe Families Action Learning Lab.

  • Lisa James, program manager, Family Violence Prevention Fund
  • Rebecca Levenson, senior policy analyst, Family Violence Prevention Fund [presentation]
  • Beth Nagy, director, Domestic Violence Prevention & Response Initiatives, Division of Violence and Injury Prevention, Center for Community Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health [presentation]
  • Sharon Leahy-Lind, women's health coordinator, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services [presentation]

Further Resources:

 May 2007: Trends in Increasing Maternal Age: Research and Implications for State Title V Programs

  • Donna Strobino, Professor and Deputy Chair of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health

Resources:

 March 2007: Depression in Postpartum Women: Incidence, Risk Factors, Evidence-Based Interventions, and New Roles for States

Each year in the United States, approximately 10-15 percent of new mothers suffer from maternal depression. Unfortunately, the majority of these women do not seek help. Untreated, depression can have tragic consequences on the mother, her infant, and family. This session will first examine the last findings on the incidence, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment of postpartum depression. The speakers, representing two states grappling with the issue, will explore various strategies and best practices that states can utilize to reduce the negative outcomes of this common disorder in women.

  • Diana Cheng, MD, Medical Director, Women's Health, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
  • Laura Miller, MD, Women’s Mental Health Program, University of Illinois at Chicago

Resources:

 February 2007: Statewide Risk Screening Program for Pregnant Women: SBIRT Program
Speakers will discuss a Louisiana program to screen pregnant women for multiple risk factors for low birth weight/infant mortality, including substance use, alcohol use, tobacco use, mental health/depression and domestic violence.  This presentation will identify public health activities to develop a comprehensive screening program for maternal risk factors, explore the role of the private provider in prenatal screening and highlight the advantages of a community-based screening program.

  • Mary Craig, RN, MSN, MS, Maternity Program Coordinator, Louisiana Office of Public Health
  • Michael Kudla, MD, FACOG, Medical Director, Physicians Health Foundation of Louisiana, past chair of the Louisiana Capter of the American College of Obstetricians Gynecologists.
  • Power Point presentation

 September 2006: Models for Prematurity Reduction through Preconception Education
Representatives from the March of Dimes’ national office and Maryland and Texas MOD chapters discuss their efforts to reduce preterm births by disseminating preconceptual risk-reduction messages to women and their care providers. Speakers share specific model strategies and materials for integrating these messages into community-based programs.
Resources:

 July 2006: MCH Partnerships to Prevent Smoking among Women
Representatives from AMCHP, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Iowa Department of Public Health discuss their participation in a 3-year, CDC-funded initiative to develop sustainable partnerships to reduce smoking among women of reproductive age. Highlights include the formation of the national partnership, development of a Tobacco Action Learning Lab for 10 states, challenges and accomplishments of the national and state level partnerships, and lessons learned.
Resources:

 May 2006: Innovative Strategies to Promote Folic Acid
Adriane Griffen, President of the National Council on Folic Acid , and representatives from the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health and Florida Folic Acid Coalition will share innovative strategies to promote the use of folic acid to improve birth outcomes.

Resources: