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Mother and baby breastfeedingA Better Approach to Conversations
About Breastfeeding
Without hearing directly from mothers, health professionals can’t provide meaningful education and support that speaks to each mother’s individual views and experiences. This is one reason why improving conversations with breastfeeding mothers can help increase breastfeeding rates. Here, two experts offer advice on how to put a better conversational approach into action.

FamilyFive Strategies for Engaging
Family Partners
Engaging family partners is critical for any improvement effort. Only families truly understand their unique circumstances and needs, and only families can tell their stories. How do we get families to the table though? How do we engage with them meaningfully as equal partners in improvement? Find out more in this article. 

Mother and infantA Mother-Centered Approach to Treating Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
With rising opioid addiction rates, increasingly high numbers of babies are being born with NAS. Centering NAS care on the mother-child relationship has powerful potential for improving infant health outcomes, empowering mothers as caregivers, and supporting a holistic continuum of care. Here, Matthew Grossman, MD, expands on the benefits of a mother-centered approach for treating NAS. 

team buildingBuilding Multi-Sector Partnerships in
Early Childhood
Children and families deserve better services and supports. But silos in our systems make those supports too hard to find. By building multi-sector partnerships, children’s health stakeholders can make it easier for families to find what they need when they need it. In this article, we share five strategies for developing sustainable cross-sector collaboration.

Two New Projects:
Early Childhood Health Equity Landscape:
Learning from Existing and Emerging Initiatives

This new initiative, co-led by NICHQ and Child Trends, seeks to enhance early childhood improvement efforts and promote health equity.
>>>Read the recent press release or visit the project page to find out more. 

Exploring State-Level Strategies to Improve Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes
Preterm birth, a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity, is on the rise and disproportionately affects black mothers and babies. This initiative seeks to better understand how state-level systems change may help lower preterm birth rates. 
>>>Read the recent press release or visit the project page to find out more.


In Case You Missed It

  • Millions of Invisible Children: In this articleNICHQ Chief Health Officer, Elizabeth Coté, MD, MPA,  expands on the urgent need to understand and respond to the disparities in health outcomes for the millions of children living in rural poverty.
  • We're hiring:  We’re looking for innovative individuals passionate about helping all children reach their optimal health outcomes. Check out our careers page for positions in project management, development, and marketing. 

We’ve set our sights on raising $200,000 to celebrate our 20th anniversary by changing children’s lives. Help us reach our goal so that we can give all children a better start. Your tax-deductible gift will make a difference in our work to improve children’s health. Donate today