maternal and child health – Powers For the People

There’s Progress in Maternal & Child Health … But We’re Not Done (video)

Posted on January 27, 2022September 12, 2022 by Pamela Powers

For years, I have been pounding a drum about the need for the state of Arizona to fully fund maternal and child health and to tackle Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Too many Moms and babies are dying or living with poverty and disease due to stingy policies in Arizona.

Arizona’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Report (AMMMR) showed that 80 percent of the post childbirth maternal deaths were preventable and 20 percent were suicides. Moms need help — especially now with the added stress of COVID19 and limited childcare options.

M&C Health got a much-need boost recently with the passage of increased funding for Healthy Families (HB2111). Healthy Families is a program that was cut dramatically in the past 10 years and never restored. It is a voluntary home visitation postpartum program. Health educators visit new moms and their babies and teach topics like breast feeding, healthy diet, and coping skills, along with strategies to be a better mom.

Continue reading There’s Progress in Maternal & Child Health … But We’re Not Done (video)

Group Prenatal Care Would Benefit Moms & Babies (video)

Posted on January 21, 2022February 15, 2022 by Pamela Powers

I’m often acused of giving you only bad news in my videos. Today’s video is about HB2230, a good bill that will likely be heard in the Health and Human Services Committee in the future.

HB2230 would create a grant program for OB/GYNs who want to set up a group prenatal program at their practice. This would be a great boon to pregnant women and new mothers.

When I was 30 years old and pregnant with my first child, my doctor’s practice offered weekly childbirthing classes with patients who were due within a three month window. We met weekly throughout our pregnancies. We learned a lot about pregnancy, nutrition, exercise and childbirth, but we also became friends, walking partners and later playdate moms. Those classes gave me a healthy community of women to learn with, to have fun with and to lean on.

Continue reading Group Prenatal Care Would Benefit Moms & Babies (video)

Podcast: With Cash in the Coffers, Will Arizona Finally Invest in Healthy Children & Families? (video)

Posted on November 10, 2021April 8, 2022 by Pamela Powers

The Finance Advisory Committee of the Arizona Legislature met recently. This group of financial experts from the universities and elsewhere meet quarterly with the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) to advise them and the Legislature on the state’s economic outlook.

The October 2021 Finance Advisory Committee meeting was particularly rosy. During the pandemic, Arizona’s state government and residents received a total of $51 billion in aid from the federal government. These funds kept many Arizonans afloat during the pandemic and greatly helped our state’s financial position. The state coffers are brimming with tax revenue and gaming proceeds. Arizona corporations saw record profits. The Rainy Day Fund has $970 million in it. Ninety-four percent of the prepandemic jobs have returned.

During my five years in the Arizona House, I have been a crusader for increased funding and services for maternal and child health. Arizona is worst in the country for Adverse Childhood Experiences. Far too many Arizona children grow up with food insecurity, housing insecurity and financial insecurity, while the state government gives away billions each year in tax breaks.

With so much cash on hand, it’s time for the Arizona Legislature to invest in the health and wellbeing of children and families – instead of more tax breaks for corporations and wealthy Arizonans.

Child Poverty Report Reveals Failure of #Republican Leadership in #AZLeg to Care for Children (video)

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Pamela Powers

Nationwide and statewide, far too many women and their children are living in poverty. Those of you who follow my Legislative Updates and videos know that I have been beating the drum for improved maternal and child health and for tackling Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) like food, housing, and financial insecurity. During the pre-COVID19 pandemic, Arizona was #50 — worst in the country — for Adverse Childhood Experiences.

The Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), a watchdog group that lobbies the Legislature on behalf of children, recently published their 2020 Kids Count Book with data regarding the well-being of Arizona’s children. You can read the data book here. CAA also collects survey responses from candidates and electeds who are running for the Legislature. You can read the responses here.

To read more about the data book, check out David Gordon’s story in Blog for Arizona: Child Poverty and Food Insecurity are Major Concerns as the CAA releases the 2020 Arizona Kids Count Book.

Continue reading Child Poverty Report Reveals Failure of #Republican Leadership in #AZLeg to Care for Children (video)

Maternal & Child Health! The Movie! (video)

Posted on October 24, 2019October 23, 2019 by Pamela Powers

Now that I have your attention…

Who can resist babies doing yoga coupled with multiple exclamation points?

As many of you know, maternal and child health has been my focus for nearly a year now, ever since my strong, adorable, and intelligent granddaughter Selah was born with gastroschisis. Her three months in the Nursery Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Tucson Medical Center (TMC) in 2018 gave me a new appreciation for the human and financial costs related to adverse birth outcomes and high tech medicine.

When it comes to maternal and child health, I strongly believe that the state of Arizona can and should do better regarding:

Increasing access to prenatal, perinatal and postpartum care.
Decreasing the rates of premature and low birthweight babies.
Reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and nonmarital births.
Reducing toxic stress in and increasing opportunities for families and children by tackling chronic, systemic poverty in Arizona– particularly among single parent households.

Continue reading Maternal & Child Health! The Movie! (video)

Maternal & Child Health… a Dialogue with Rep. Powers Hannley (video)

Posted on September 20, 2019February 15, 2023 by Pamela Powers

What is the state of maternal and child health in the state of Arizona? Well, it certainly could be better.

Arizona ranks in the 40s (out of 50 states) in many areas related to the health of Moms and their babies.

Too many Moms and babies are dying preventable deaths after childbirth. Too many babies are born prematurely, with low birth weight or with birth defects. Not surprisingly, access to first trimester prenatal care has decreased, while beginning prenatal care late or not having prenatal care has increased.

Although the Arizona Department of Health Services recently received a CDC grant to study maternal mortality, there is more work to be done to improve the lives of Moms and babies.

Arizona should be doing more to prevent premature and low brithweight babies, increase access to prenatal and post-partum care for women, and increase post secondary educational opportunities (particularly for young girls).

I will talk about the State of Maternal and Child Health in Arizona and lead a discussion about challenges and solutions at the Salt of the Earth Labor College on Saturday, September 21, 2019, beginning at 2 p.m. (Facebook event here. Blog for Arizona event here.) The College is located at 1902 E. Irene Vista, Tucson.