Maternal and child health journal
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Matern Child Health J · May 2020
Comparative StudyDisparities in Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Children By Mother's Sexual Orientation.
Few population-based studies have examined the health care experiences of children with sexual minority parents. The purpose of this study was to compare health insurance status, access to care, and health services utilization for children by mother's sexual orientation. ⋯ Children with bisexual mothers experience barriers to routine medical care. Addressing socioeconomic dimensions of health care access and targeted outreach to bisexual parents will help promote health equity for children growing up in sexual minority households.
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Matern Child Health J · May 2020
Mothers' Perceptions of Quality of Family-Centered Care and Environmental Stressors in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Predictors of and Relationships with Psycho-emotional Outcomes and Postpartum Attachment.
Maternal attachment to promote role development in mothers of preterm infants is critical for babies' optimal growth and development. However, few models specify how neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and their environments work to foster postpartum attachment (PPA) after preterm birth. We investigated relationships of quality of family-centered care and NICU environmental stressors with maternal PPA, to determine whether these are mediated by mothers' psycho-emotional response and whether pathways to PPA are moderated by developmental immaturity (gestation, birthweight). ⋯ Healthcare professionals should be aware of the importance of family-centered interventions focusing on psychosocial support and family participation in baby care, based on their environmental role in promoting PPA.
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Matern Child Health J · Apr 2020
Stressful Life Events Among New Mothers in Georgia: Variation by Race, Ethnicity and Nativity.
Prior research has identified psychosocial stress as a risk factor for adverse maternal and infant outcomes for non-Hispanic Black and White women. However, whether psychosocial stress differs in its profile and association with preterm birth across diverse racial-ethnic-nativity groups in the Southeast remains unexamined. Both foreign-born and Hispanic women represent important proportions of new mothers in many Southeastern states. The objective of this paper is to describe the prevalence of categories of prenatal life events among Georgia mothers, the variation across race, ethnicity and nativity, and the association of prenatal stress with prevalence of preterm birth. ⋯ Prenatal and preconception stress were common among women who gave birth between 2012 and 2015 in Georgia and may have implications for preterm and postpartum maternal mental health.
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Matern Child Health J · Feb 2020
State Regulations to Support Children's Cultural and Religious Food Preferences in Early Care and Education.
In July 2018 the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics released a benchmark encouraging early care and education (ECE) programs, including child care centers and family child care homes, to incorporate cultural and religious food preferences of children into meals. We examined the extent to which states were already doing so through their ECE licensing and administrative regulations prior to the release of the benchmark. This review may serve as a baseline to assess future updates, if more states incorporate the benchmark into their regulations. ⋯ Most states lacked regulations consistent with the benchmark. Health professionals can help encourage ECE programs to consider cultural and religious food preferences of children in meal planning. And, if feasible, states may consider additional regulations supporting cultural and religious preferences of children in future updates to regulations.
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Matern Child Health J · Jan 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialA Virtual Resiliency Intervention Promoting Resiliency for Parents of Children with Learning and Attentional Disabilities: A Randomized Pilot Trial.
One in five children have a learning and attentional disability (LAD). Parents of children with LAD are vulnerable to distress, but an evidence-based treatment has not been developed. ⋯ NCT02772432.