MCH Bridges: The Official AMCHP Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Our new MCH Bridges podcast episode addresses the critical importance of planning for and responding to the needs of women, children, and families, particularly those requiring complex care, during public health emergencies. The efforts described in this episode reflect the panelists' personal and professional experiences advocating for and implementing a state-level policy change to do just this. 

Tune in now to this detailed discussion about what it takes to implement a policy change aimed at ensuring that children with the most complex health care needs are less vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters and other emergencies. This example demonstrates how family advocates and staff from multiple state agencies partnered to create an amendment for the Medically Fragile Technology Dependent Medicaid Waiver that enabled critical power generators to be purchased with the use of waiver service funds.  

This episode is a part of AMCHP’s Building Resilience from Lived Experience anthology.

Resources

• Building Resilience from Lived Experience: AMCHP’s Collection of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Stories  
• Home Generator Information for MFTD Waiver Families (University of Illinois Chicago's DSCC) 
• Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Checklist for Maternal and Infant Health (AMCHP, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)   
• Prepared4ALL: Whole Community Inclusive Emergency Planning (Association of University Centers on Disabilities) 
• Find a Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F) or Family Voices Affiliate Organization (FVAO) 
• Parent to Parent USA 

Our newest MCH Bridges and What the Health?! crossover episode, led by AMCHP’s Youth Voice Amplified (YVA) committee, talks about the food insecurity crisis in the United States from a systems and lived experience point of view, and how these perspectives impact each other. This episode shares an overview of the state of food insecurity in this country, a background of different terms in the food justice space, and the inequities that present challenges for many in our communities. You will also hear about the importance of empowering communities and understanding solutions to accessing nourishing foods they connect with to create positive health outcomes.  

Tune in now to listen and learn from guest host Amber Woodside and speakers Serena Sakkal and Bennett K., who share their experiences and insights on how to restore the connection between food and joy.

Disclaimer: This episode deals with topics of food insecurity, food banks, poverty, childhood trauma, nutrition, and systems of discrimination. Please prioritize your mental health and consider if you're ready to listen to this episode. If you or your family are experiencing acute food insecurity, you can dial 211 to be connected to a local confidential referral service in order to find assistance. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or food-related trauma responses, you can contact the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness Helpline at 1-866-662-1235.

Resources:  

• AMCHP’s Food Security Topic Page 
• Pueblo Food Project  
• Eating Disorder Hotlines 
• Healthcare Without Harm – Connecting Food-Insecure Individuals to Resources 
• Feeding America – How We Measure Hunger 
• USDA Facts & Statistics 
• Food Empowerment Project

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 Health

Please 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 Toolkit
• National 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 Resources
• Amnesty International: Pushed into Harm’s Way
• Journal 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 Framework
• American Journal of Public Health Article, March 2024: Protecting Immigrant Children: A Public Health of Consequence, March 2024
• American Journal of Public Health Article, March 2024: Health Risks of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in Federal Custody and in US Communities

Please 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 Prison
• Prison 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
   

In the first part of this episode, we talk with Rhea Goswami, co-founder of the Environmental Justice Coalition (EJC), about why youth engagement is so important, especially when working to address climate change and climate injustices, how MCH can engage with young people, the importance and impact that environmental health has on MCH populations, and the need for environmental and media literacy skills for children and youth.

In the second part of the episode, we chat with one of Rhea’s mentors, Dr. Megan Latshaw in the Department of Environmental Health & Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, about networking, the connection between environmental health and MCH, environmental justice, and what MCH professionals can do.

Resources:
EJC's Instagram
EJC's Podcast "A Cup of EJ"
Children's Environmental Health Day panel interview with Rhea
Maryland Environmental Human Rights Amendment Toolkit (co-authored by Rhea)

In this episode, we tackle the topic of redefining rest and productivity with Marissa McKool, Career and Life Coach. Marissa shares her personal wake up call on the brink of burnout, explores why we are sometimes hesitant to take time off, discusses how supervisors and managers can be more supportive of staff, the intersection of oppressive systems and thoughts on rest, and shares ideas and tips for reshaping our mindset throughout the conversation.

Resources:

• Redefining Rest Podcast Episodes (Marissa's Podcast): Taking a Sick Day and Vacation Brain
• Burnout Recovery Mini-Course (McKool Coaching)
• Addressing Health Worker Burnout The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Thriving Health Workforce 
• Rising Stress and Burnout in Public Health: Results of a National Survey of the Public Health Workforce (de Beaumont and ASTHO) 
• Support for Public Health Workers and Health Professionals (CDC)
• Public Health Workforce Resilience Resource Library (NACCHO)

Please 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.

 In the times we live in, we are constantly facing all sorts of emergencies and preparedness is essential to keep families safe and promote health and wellbeing in challenging situations. In this episode, we explore how Tennessee has intentionally centered communities of color in response efforts and learn about Puerto Rico’s experience facing emergencies like Zika, Hurricane Maria, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guest Speakers: 

• Dr. Tobi Amosun, Assistant Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Health Division of Family Health and Wellness
• Jacquie Johnson, Section Chief, Children and Youth with Special Needs, Tennessee Department of Health
• Camille Delgado-López, Coordinator Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies, Puerto Rico Department of Health

Resources:
From Tenneessee:

• Tennessee's Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program
• Child with Special Needs Emergency Alert graphic
• Child with Special Needs Decal
• Child with Special Needs Decal information
• Emergency Kit Checklist for Families with Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHCN)

From Puerto Rico: 

• About Hurricane Maria
• What climate change means for Puerto Rico
• Zika surveillance
• CDC's Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers & Babies

Please 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.

In part two of this episode, a culturally centered perinatal wellness project, the InTune Mother Society, discuss Black entrepreneurship, ingenuity,  how the maternal and child health field can equitably support community-rooted birth justice work.

Please 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.

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Additional Resources Related to This Episode

The InTune Mother Society (TIMS) is Redesigning Birth Work For The Future. 

TIMS is working hard to build capacity for our State Approved Perinatal Wellness Coach Certification program.  The program is designed to prepare Central Oklahoma residents for a career as a Perinatal Wellness Coach. The program is approved by the US Department of Labor and Training Administration of Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board (COWIB); our participants benefit from pioneering a job market that is focused on higher salaries that result from making Holistic Family Planning options accessible, through in-demand qualifications. Learn more about our community-based social innovation project at: https://timcenter.org/redesigning-birth-work-for-the-future/.


Learn more about Bridget “Biddy” Mason, a slave midwife who became one of the first prominent citizens and landowners in Los Angeles in the 1850s and 1860s 

The Willie Lynch letter mentioned in the episode is now believed to not be written by Willie Lynch himself, however it is widely promoted as an authentic account of slavery during the 18th century. Read more here.  ***TRIGGER WARNING: This article quotes the Willie Lynch letter, which contains graphic, disturbing language such as stereotypes and racial slurs.

What is Birth Justice?

Black Maternal and Infant Health: Historical Legacies of Slavery (article)

Black History Month: The Importance of Black Midwives, Then, Now and Tomorrow (blog post)

African American Nurse-Midwives: Continuing the Legacy (article)