May  2017  Newsletter 
 Greetings 

It has been a busy Spring at the Center for Maternal and Infant Health! We are pleased to share an update about our work, including some important new tools and resources for your practice. We strive to improve the health of North Carolina's women and infants by providing quality collaborative care and translating evidence-based strategies into practice. We are so thankful for all the hard work of our team and very appreciative of the support from our many partners.  
Newsletter Content

SafeSleepSafe Sleep Campaign

Recently, CMIH added the North Carolina  Safe Sleep Campaign to its portfolio of statewide campaigns. Initially started with the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation, the CMIH was entrusted with carrying on the great legacy this spring.Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and sleep-related deaths continue to be a leading cause of infant mortality in North Carolina. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released an updated policy statement in late 2016, which included a new recommendation about where infants should sleep. All practitioners should be familiar with these policies to stay current, please review the content on this  website

The CDC recently released a report in Pediatrics examining racial and ethnic trends in sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) rates in the United States from 1995 to 2013. They found significant racial and ethnic differences in SUID rates. In particular, they noted that SUID rates were highest among American Indian/Alaska Native infants followed by non-Hispanic Black infants. They also found that the SUID rates for Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander infants were consistently lower than the rates of non-Hispanic white infants. These results reveal how important it is to develop culturally appropriate interventions that target communities with the highest SUID rates. Click here to read the full article.  

The  Safe Sleep Campaign  has opened up several opportunities for collaboration with other CMIH projects. For example, our  You Quit, Two Quit  team presented to SIDS Counselors about the importance of infants sleeping in a smoke-free environment to help reduce the risk of SIDS, and how to support women as they work to quit perinatal tobacco use. We were also pleased to bring together the Safe Sleep Advisory Group for their insights. Kristin Tully, a member of our  4th Trimester Project  team, gave a presentation about work underway to design sidecar beds to enhance infant feeding and sleeping in the hospital setting. 
FamilyFamily Spotlight 

CMIH is proud to provide personalized care for families with complicated pregnancies and babies with serious medical conditions. We are very thankful for our care coordinators, our clinician partners, and the work they do together. Two of the almost 200 families we are serving share the impact of our team on their lives. 

Donkiya's Story
Donkiya and her daughter Ava
Donkiya has been working with the CMIH team for two years since the birth of her daughter, Ava. She described the services as extremely helpful and supportive. Donkiya said she was so thankful for the help she received with scheduling important appointments for her daughter and the social and emotional support she received during moments of challenge. Donkiya mentioned her coordinator always went "above and beyond" when helping her and her daughter, noting that she was "always responsive, friendly, and organized." Donkiya reported that simply listening and being there with the family was a quality she really valued in her providers. Becoming a mom has been a life altering experience for Donkiya. She is constantly inspired by her daughter's tenacity and ambition. Ava is a born musician, she loves singing, listening to and playing music. Donkiya says her providers at UNC Hospital and CMIH are now like family to her. If she were to sum up her experience with UNC Healthcare and CMIH in one word it would be "Caring". 

Aurora's Story
Aurora has been working with the CMIH team for a little over eight months since the birth of her son Yatzil. She said she had initially heard about the program through one of her aunts and was relieved to have a program that could provide her support with her son. She described the services offered as extremely helpful. She appreciates how caring all the providers have been, taking the time to answer any questions she had and attentive to details. Aurora said she was very happy her son was growing well. In their free time, Aurora has begun to knit and Yatzil enjoys listening to music.  
YFCYoung Families Connect

Welcoming Jasmine to the CMIH family!
Young Families Connect (YFC) is a new exciting project at CMIH. YFC provides life skills education and support young parents between the ages of 13 to 24 in four rural counties in NC. The mission of Young Families Connect is to connect, engage, and share resources with young families to increase self-sufficiency, positive parenting skills, health and wellness over the life course.   We are pleased to welcome Jasmine Getrouw-Moore as the Young Families Connect Media Outreach Coordinator. Jasmine is a passionate public health educator, interested in social determinants of health and health disparities. Jasmine has professional expertise in maternal and child health education and in implementing community health education programs. In particular Jasmine is interested in using cultural heritage and history as a tool to understand and address
minority health disparities. 
Centering on Women in the Postpartum Period
MomsMatterNew Videos #MomsMatter

The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) has launched a series of #PostpartumHealth videos on YouTube and social media. Why is this important? It is estimated that almost 1/3 of women don't receive a postpartum visit. Our own communications manager and her son participated in some interviews for the series. Join the campaign and SHARE on your channels.   Full video click HERE.
P1717P Project Update
 
CMIH has created new materials to promote 17P use among eligible pregnant women. While 17P is not new, North Carolina still has a long way to go to assure that ALL women who could benefit receive treatment. The aim of the new materials is to identify and educate women who are appropriate for the use of 17P as a means to reduce the risk of  a repeat preterm birth. The materials were designed based on findings from a qualitative study conducted by CMIH that identified barriers and facilitators of 17P among eligible women.
 
17P One Page Handout ( Also in Spanish)
A new one page handout addresses the most common questions and concerns that women have identified regarding 17P.  The handouts can be ordered through the NC Division of Public Health, Women's Health Branch.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Spanish 17P Poster.
English 17P Poster.
The  posters are designed to provide a general  preterm birth message to help women who have had a prior preterm birth to initiate a conversation with their healthcare provider.
 
All materials have been tested and revised based on feedback from clinicians and from a diverse group of mothers. Materials are available in English and Spanish free of charge. Visit MomBaby.org to find more 17P information and resources.
Youquit2quitYou Quit, Two Quit
The You Quit, Two Quit Practice Bulletin ( Click here for full access)

With funding from the NC General Assembly, CMIH has been able to expand the reach of You Quit, Two Quit , our perinatal tobacco cessation quality improvement initiative. We are on track to reach over 100 practices across the state with our free training and have been busy creating new provider and patient materials.    

Our new You Quit, Two Quit Practice Bulletin is full of information for health care providers about the 5As, resources, billing, pharmacotherapy, preventing postpartum relapse, electronic nicotine device systems, and integrating trauma informed care for women who use tobacco.

Our new patient education booklet, 
E-Cigarettes &Vaping: Information fo r Women & Their Families
provides information for pregnant women and mothers on the 
Our new patient education booklet (click here for full access)
risks associated with e- cigarettes and self-help guidance for quitting. This booklet can be ordered through the NC Division of Public Health, Women's Health Branch. 

Contact us, if you are interested in learning more about our free training on evidence-based tobacco use screening and cessation counseling for your practice. We can also provide assistance on integrating tobacco screening and treatment into your clinic's work flow. Email Erin McClain for more information about You Quit, Two Quit erin_mcclain@unc.edu
MCHChat#MCHChat - a success!

On May 16th, during National Women's Health Week, the March of Dimes moderated a Twitter discussion on behalf of the CMIH team. The chat focused on women's health led by experts in the field - many from CMIH. The discussion was lively and fast paced. Topics ranged from reproductive health, to health equity, to support in the 4th trimester. There were a total of 105 Chat Contributors and over 194,135 Twitter accounts were reached!

See the highlights of the #MCHChat  click here.

  Click here to check out the Preconception Health and Health Care Campaign newsletter!
NewsCMIH Team News

Sarah, Graduate Intern
This spring we were proud to cheer on three excellent graduate students who worked with the Center over the academic year. A big thank you to Cara English, Tierney McNamara, and Jessica Huey. We welcomed Kristin Tully's newborn daughter, Bethany, to the team and celebrated weddings of Aileen Aylward and Cara English. We were thrilled to present Maya Lindley with her 10 year service certificate!  We also welcome a new intern to the team for the summer, Sarah Buisson. She is a UNC MSW/MPH graduate student with interests in postpartum health and wellness and eliminating disparities.
The CMIH team
  UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health
Sarah Verbiest, Executive Director
Kate Menard & Wayne Price,  Clinical Directors
Alison Stuebe, Research Director
| Room 3018 Old Clinic Bldg,  Campus Box 7181,  Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7181 
| 919-843-7865| sarahv@med.unc.edu | |  https://www.mombaby.org/ |