MCH Bridges: The Official AMCHP Podcast AMCHP

This episode highlights the lived experiences of families who have experienced a stillbirth. You’ll hear from Jasmine Abraham and Nneka Hall, who share their personal experiences after Jasmine’s son Qasem and Nneka’s daughter Annaya were born still. You’ll also hear from Rose Horton, a nurse and Executive Director of Women and Infant Services at Emory Decatur Hospital who also created #NotOnMyWatch. You’ll learn about what stillbirth is and what we know about risk factors and prevention. The episode also discusses the short- and long-term impacts of the loss of a baby and what supports and systems-levels changes are needed.

Content warning: This episode is about stillbirth and shares personal stories about pregnancy & infant loss. It discusses mental health challenges and mentions suicide. Much of the episode will be emotionally challenging and content shared in the episode could bring up past traumatic experiences. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please dial 988 immediately to call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides support before, during, and after pregnancy. Call or text 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS (1-833-943-5746). TTY users can use a preferred relay service or dial 711 and then 988 or 1-833-943-5746. Both services are free, confidential, and available 24/7.

Resources:
· Count the Kicks
Count the Kicks (CTK) is an evidence-based stillbirth prevention program and an AMCHP Best Practice. In the first 10 years of their campaign in Iowa (2008-2018), the state's stillbirth rate went down 32% while rates in the rest of the country remained relatively stagnant. Visit their website to learn how you can bring CTK to your state by becoming an expansion state.
· Still Birthday
· Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
· Quietly United In Loss Together founded by Nneka Hall (www.annaya.org)
· Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support – find support in your state
· Return to Zero Hope
· Still Standing Magazine
· Pregnancy After Loss Support
· Star Legacy Foundation
Legislation:
· Raising the Volume - Ending the Silent Epidemic of Stillbirth congressional briefing
· National Stillbirth Prevention Day
· Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education for Autumn Act of 2022
· Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022
Common acronyms or terms you may hear in the loss community:
· Sunshine baby: baby born before a loss
· Angel baby: baby who has passed away
· Rainbow baby: baby born or conceived after a loss
· Heaven born: baby who was stillborn 
· Earth born: baby who was born alive
· PAIL: Pregnancy and infant loss
· PAL: Pregnancy after loss
· SIL: Sister/sista/sistah in loss

In this special episode, AMCHP's MCH Bridges teams up with the Maternal Health Innovation podcast to explore maternal health policy successes, challenges and opportunities.  Guest host Laura Powis, AMCHP's Evidence-Based Policy and Practice Program Manager, is joined by Indra Lusero, founder of the Elephant Circle; Demetra Seriki, Midwife at A Mother's Choice Midwifery; and George Davis V, a community member on Elephant Circle's Birth Equity Implementation Steering Committee to discuss Colorado's Birth Equity Bill Package. This recently passed legislation is a comprehensive and community-led response to the maternal health crisis designed to increase access and decrease inequities in obstetric care in the state.

Additional Resources:
AMCHP's MCH Innovations Database: Colorado Birth Equity Bill PackagePolicy Development HandoutElephant Circle: Birth Equity Bill Package SummaryMaternal Health Learning & Innovation Center: Policy ResourcesHave you been involved in the development, implementation, or evaluation of  a policy that benefits MCH populations? Share  it with your peers through AMCHP's Innovation Hub! Learn more and submit your work here.

In this episode, we are joined by Leo Andreas (he/him) and Jenna "JB" Brown (they/he) to explore the unique perinatal mental health experiences of queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people. Leo, a dad of a two-year-old, shares his mental health experiences of his journey to parenthood. And JB, a full-spectrum doula and community educator, explains the positive impact person-centered, radically inclusive care can have on the mental health of queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people during the perinatal period. 


This episode discusses mental health issues and mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Additionally, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides support before, during, and after pregnancy. Call or text 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS (1-833-943-5746). TTY users can use a preferred relay service or dial 711 and then 988 or 1-833-943-5746. Both services are free, confidential, and available 24/7. 

Resources: 
National LGBTQ Task Force: Queering Reproductive Justice: A Toolkit RTZ Hope: LGBTQ+ Families Family Equality National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center Postpartum Support International: Help for Queer and Trans Parents International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology: LGBTQ2S+ childbearing individuals and perinatal mental health: A systematic review Youth Voices Amplified Podcast (the most recent episodes cover reproductive justice and anti-LGBTQ+ laws)  Mom and Mind Podcast: Transgender and Gender Queer Perinatal Mental HealthPlease complete this short survey to share input on the episode and let us know who or what you’d like to hear about on future episodes: https://bit.ly/MCHBridgesPilot.   

This episode highlights the effects of structural racism and the history of our food system in the United States. It discusses the demonization of cultural foods, the use of Eurocentric dietary standards as the primary baseline for nutrition recommendations, and how these continue to contribute to the gap in nutrition inequality we see today. 
Tune in now to hear from guest speaker Sadé Meeks as she shares her concept of food as resistance and how we can empower communities through a holistic approach in the interconnected complexity of identity and food.  
As a subsequent part of this episode, AMCHP is inviting our listeners to watch Sadé’s documentary “Food as Resistance” [request free access code] and join us for the first-ever “Creating the Connections: MCH Bridges After-Episode” on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, from 3:00 – 4:00 PM EDT [register]. This event will be moderated by AMCHP staff and will be joined live by Sadé, who will discuss your thoughts and reflections on the “Food as Resistance” documentary.

Additional Resources: 
More on the exclusion of Black Farmers in the U.S.: 
 'Rampant issues': Black farmers are still left out at USDA .Politico, Bustillo (2021). 
Water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi:  
*This episode was recorded prior to the Jackson, MS water crisis receiving national media attention, we encourage our listeners to learn more about this issue and support in whatever way you can by visiting the links below. 
'They let us down': Water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, flows from systemic racism . Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Schrader (2022). 
 Ways To Help: Jackson Water Crisis . Community Foundation For Mississippi (2022).

This episode explores the unique experiences of unaccompanied immigrant children (UICs) and the ways in which immigration impacts mental health. The Young Center, an organization dedicated to promoting immigrant children’s rights, ensures the safety and best interests of unaccompanied children in United States custody by advocating for them as they navigate the immigration system. In this episode, José Ortiz-Rosales, Deputy Director of the Young Center’s Child Advocate Program, and Anne Kelsey, Policy Analyst for Disability Rights at the Young Center, offer their perspectives on opportunities for the public health field to better support unaccompanied minors’ mental and physical health needs.

Resources:
American Academy of Pediatrics: Immigrant Child Health ToolkitNational Partnership for Women & Families: A Systemic Failure: Immigrant Moms and Babies are Being Denied Health Care National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: Education, Capacity Building & Community ResourcesAmnesty International: Pushed into Harm’s WayJournal of Technology in Behavioral Science: The Refugee and Immigrant Core Stressors Toolkit (RICST): Understanding the Multifaceted Needs of Refugee and Immigrant Youth and Families Through a Four Core Stressors FrameworkPlease complete this short survey to share input on the episode and let us know who or what you’d like to hear about on future episodes: https://bit.ly/MCHBridgesPilot.  

This episode explores the unique experience of pregnant people navigating substance use disorders and the criminal justice system. Jenna’s Project, a program of UNC Horizons, works to support people in recovery at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. In this episode, a mom shares her journey navigating incarceration while pregnant and recovering from a substance use disorder, and Essence Hairston, the program’s clinical instructor, offers her perspective on opportunities for the public health field to better support pregnant people who use substances.

Resources:
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts: Integrating Obstetrical and Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum People in PrisonPrison Policy Initiative: What role does drug enforcement play in the rising incarceration of women?National Advocates for Pregnant Women: Punishing Pregnant Drug-Using Women: Defying Law, Medicine, and Common Sense Guttmacher Institute: State Laws and Policies on Substance Use During Pregnancy