Oral

Maternal and child health is one of the indicators for a nation’s health. In this session, students report research findings that reflect the health of maternal and child populations in the United States and the globe. Post partum depression appears to be a widespread problem among new mothers in China. The postpartum visit, post partum depression screening, and greater access to mental health resources are important implications. Health disparities reflect in the US prenatal substance users and their infants. Black non-Hispanic women who were tobacco and alcohol users are 3.2 times more likely to have a LBW neonate and White non-Hispanic women are 2.9 times more likely to have a LBW neonate than non-users. Neighborhood factors also influence the infant birth weight by shaping maternal behavioral risks. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, a standard deviation increase in neighborhood risk conferred a 76 gram birth weight decrement (p=0.01), with a 298 gram difference between the best and worst neighborhood risk deciles. For children with birth defects, such as orofacial clefts, about 78% of those infants in North Carolina have cleft surgery within 18 months of life. Many infants do not receive other necessary specialized services; therefore, efforts need to be addressed to increase timely receipt of services for this population to improve their health outcomes. Improving children’s nutrition in Rwanda is a goal by Millennium Development by 2015, evaluation findings suggest that the Positive Deviance/Hearth (PD/H) model makes a difference in the nutrition status of the children.

Session Objectives: 1. List key issues in maternal and child health in the U.S. and in developing countries 2. Explain the contextual and proximate determinants of birth weight 3. Describe the application of innovative methods in maternal and child health research

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing