Perinatal Health Disparities

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Perinatal Health Disparities

• Addressing Life Course Issues
• May 1, 2008

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Birth Outcomes in Our Community
Eduardo
BBC NEWS Friday, 11 August 2006, 1206 GMT 1306
UK
Joseph
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A Tale of Two Babies
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Infant Deaths
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Premature Delivery
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Why Does it Matter?
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Can These Babies be Helped?

• Medical treatments continue to advance
• Asthma control programs
• Neonatal and pediatric intensive care
• Early intervention ameliorates cognitive deficits
• Greatest impact on near term, near normal weight
  babies
• Requires early and intensive support by families
  as well as agencies

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The Life Course Path to Poor Birth Outcomes
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Contributing Factors
Poor Infant Development
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Leading to Social, Cognitive Challenges
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Issues Compounded
Poor Social, Cognitive Skills
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Leading to Poor Underlying Health
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Emerging Health Problems
Poor Underlying Health
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Smoked During Pregnancy
Challenge How to generate sufficient resources
to give more women alternative stress management
skills to replace tobacco.
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Hypertension
Challenge How to help women improve nutrition
and exercise BEFORE pregnancy?
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STD During Pregnancy
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Leading to Unhealthy Pregnancy
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Implications for Pregnancy
Pregnancy
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Births to Teens
Challenge How to give young girls expectations
for themselves that make early motherhood less
attractive? How to provide sufficient support
for pregnant teens to ensure a healthy family and
prevent repeat pregnancies?
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Less Than HS Education
Challenge Keeping girls in school not only
reduces likelihood of pregnancy, it is critical
in breaking cycles of poverty
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Unintended Pregnancy

• Challenge Understanding what is behind this
  increase
• These are BIRTHS that resulted from an
  unintended pregnancy, not total unintended
  pregnancies.

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Appropriate Weight Gain
Challenge How to help women understand the
importance of appropriate weight gain and give
them tools and support to achieve their goals.
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The Cycle Continues
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Prevention Breaking the Cycle
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Achievement Requires Support
Interconception Care
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Increased Healthful Choices
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Healthy Women Make Healthy Choices
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Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Birth
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If We Get This Right
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Everything Is Possible