Our Stand Against Racism events on Friday, April 27, 2012 were just outstanding!  Flash mob dances were held in front of  Unity St. Mary’s Campus and in front of the Healthy Start Center/Comienzo Sano on Clinton Ave.  The community, program participants, and staff from Unity, Rochester General and Perinatal Network came together in an amazing way.  Special thanks to Ashley for her choreography and leadership.

Here’s a link to the video taken at Unity St. Mary’s Campus:

We had so much fun that we put this show on the road to Clinton Family Medicine/Comienza Sano:

As the weather warms up, so does the garage and yard sale season.  Buying used is an excellent way for parents to save money and help the environment. 

However, as a parent, you need to keep the following in mind when shopping:

• Is the item in good condition?  No broken parts or excessive wear?
• Can the item be cleaned well enough for reuse?
• Is the item safe?  Many child-related items, such as car seats, high chairs, cribs, etc. get recalled.  Here are a couple of sites where you can check for recall information:  www.babycenter.com/product-recall-finder and www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html.

Did you know that the Perinatal Network of Monroe County runs three issue specific coalitions as part of our Comprehensive Prenatal-Perinatal Services Networks grant through New York State?  Members of the community join us as we work on the topics of perinatal smoking cessation, perinatal mood disorders and perinatal oral health.  Each group works on small, actionable projects that can have a positive impact in the community.  This past February several members of our Perinatal Oral Health Coalition volunteered their time to speak with women and their children at one of Rochester’s local WIC offices.  Below is an account of the experience.

“On February 1, 2012 the WIC chats were very busy, the dialogue was flowing and it was great! The participants seemed very comfortable with Phyllis and I and we were able to get our message out about the importance of good oral health and visiting a dentist regularly. Our last group of the morning included a mother who obviously had a lot on her mind. The discussion got off topic and focused on her, and she opened up to the small group about problems she was experiencing since receiving custody of her children after a year’s absence. She had been incarcerated and was having a difficult time reconnecting with her children. Although the WIC staff was ready to meet with the clients in our group they didn’t want to interrupt the conversation. Thanks to Phyllis’ (she’s an RN and minister) experience and others in the group, they were able to reassure this troubled mother and provide her with resources to get into family therapy. I returned a few days later and the staff person from WIC said she was listening in on our session and thought it was great. She had spoken to the mother afterward and she was just so appreciative to have someone to talk to who didn’t judge her but offered solutions. I find every week is a new experience and very rewarding.”

Paula Fischer
Registered Dental Hygienist
NYS Oral Health Technical Assistance Center @ RPCN

If you are interested in joining any of our coalitions please email Jacquie Isaacs and she will add you to the distribution list.  We would love to have you join us!

By Dr. Mary Harris, RD, professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University – 03/27/12 02:07 PM ET

When I opined about the confusion caused by the 2004 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advice to pregnant women about eating seafood in The Hill’s Congress Blog back in February (Seafood should be next up on FDA plate), I had no way of knowing that my points would be so readily illustrated in the same space little more than a year later (Pollution no match for motherly love).

I commend Jessica Capshaw for championing a cleaner, safer world for this generation and the next. Cleaning up coal burning power plants is an important mission, and I support the clean air initiatives, but the information presented about seafood contradicts the current advice given to pregnant women by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).

The current guidelines were adopted after a committee of scientists evaluated the safety of eating seafood during pregnancy and breastfeeding and recommended that pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers eat 8 to 12 ounces (2 servings) of a variety of fish per week, which can include up to 6 ounces of albacore (white) tuna.

There are just four rarely-eaten types of fish for this population to avoid (shark, king mackerel, swordfish and tilefish) because of methyl mercury. The nutrition we get in the womb can affect us all our lives and science shows that eating fish during pregnancy boosts brain and eye development in babies. But the amount of seafood pregnant women eat remains woefully low during and even after baby is born. Unclear and outdated advice from the FDA/EPA about eating seafood has created confusion among pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, which can have unintended consequences for babies’ brain development.

Fish is the major dietary source of omega-3 DHA, an essential nutrient required by the brain as it grows. Misinformation about eating seafood has worked its way into everything from opinion columns to casual conversations and frightened large numbers of pregnant women from eating a healthy food which contributes to babies’ optimal growth and development.

It is time for accurate science-based messages that tell Americans what the World Health Organization and the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization have been saying; the danger isn’t in eating too much seafood, it’s in not eating enough. It’s a message that’s spelled out in a new video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in which Dr. Emily Oken of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute says, “when we conducted…focus groups with pregnant women they followed the precautionary principle often; if there’s any risk I’d rather be safe than sorry.  But not recognizing, because no one had told them, that there was risk to eating no fish as well.”

The rhetoric and the advice about eating seafood has not caught up with the science in this country and now does far more harm than good. Unfortunately, this is not a completely unusual scenario. Concerned parents around the world began avoiding vaccines after it was reported that the life saving shots were causing autism. Science thoroughly discredited such proclamations, but not before a resurgence in preventable diseases. There is no doubt that we owe the public carefully thought out, scientifically based messages that they can use to make informed decisions about nutrition and health.  We eagerly await updated advice about seafood and nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which members of congress encouraged FDA to adopt last year.

Dr. Harris, RD, is a professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Colorado State University and a member of the Perinatal Nutrition Working Group, a program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.

From:  The Hill’s Congress Blog, where lawmakers come to blog

Parents and Providers of preemies alike are always on the lookout for new information and strategies in caring for these special infants.  Baby First is a resource that provides “Clinical knowledge and family focus.  All in one place.”

Their “Parents’ Corner” covers a variety of topics – general information on preterm birth, helpful information for the NICU stay, information for after NICU discharge, family stories, and resources.  Some unique articles in these categories include cultural practices in the NICU and promoting development after discharge. 

A tab for “Neonatal Care Practice” directs providers to a series of informational pages that range from general topics like NICU Design to specific issues such as thermoregulation.  Each page includes helpful resources that include research articles, videos, and lectures. 

To visit the Baby First website, click here.

Information for this article was taken from the following sources:

2011.  Draeger Medical Systems, Inc.   Baby First: Clinical Education and Parental Support for Premature Infants.  www.babyfirst.com

This article was originally published in NYS Premature Infant Health Network Weekly Preemie Memo (Issue #19), A Weekly Update from the Association of Perinatal Networks. The Association of Perinatal Networks of New York (APN) is an organization comprised of the perinatal networks located throughout New York State. Our mission is to improve perinatal, maternal and child health and to support the work of the individual Perinatal Networks. Visit www.associationofperinatalnetworks.org to learn more about the Association of Perinatal Networks, the Premature Infant Health Network and our other initiatives.

“Our results showed that, from 2001 to 2009, favorable trends in the prevalence of engaging in leisure-time physical activity and receiving influenza vaccination existed among pregnant women in the U.S.

Additional efforts . . . are needed to reduce current smoking, any alcohol consumption, and binge drinking as well as to improve fruit and vegetable consumption in these women,” state the authors of an article published in the March 2012 issue of the Journal of Women’s Health. Encouraging pregnant women to develop and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors has been a focus of periconception care. However, knowledge about the status and temporal changes of lifestyle risk factors among pregnant women in the United States is incomplete. The article examines data from large and nationally representative samples to assess trends in the prevalence of behavioral risk factors over time among pregnant women. The authors also analyze associations between having individual healthy behaviors or clusters of healthy behaviors and selected sociodemographic factors, perceived health status, and health-care access during pregnancy.

The researchers analyzed data from the 2001-2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. They conducted their analyses on data collected from pregnant women, and, for comparison purposes, they also analyzed data from nonpregnant women ages 18-44.

The study assessed pregnancy status and lifestyle behaviors, all dichotomized as yes or no. The index of healthy behaviors was generated from the following variables: (1) not currently smoking, (2) no alcohol consumption, (3) engaging in leisure-time physical activity, and (4) receipt of influenza vaccination. Consumption of fruits and vegetables five or more times per day was added to the index for the analyses of 2009 data. Demographic variables (age, race and ethnicity, education, marital status, and household income), perceived overall health (very good or excellent; yes or no) and health care coverage (yes or no) were also assessed. The study examined prevalence estimates for having individual healthy behavioral risk factors or for having a specific number of healthy behaviors, linear trends in the prevalence estimates, and, for data from the 2009 BRFSS, odds ratios for having individual healthy behaviors and clusters of healthy behaviors with adjustment for multiple covariates.

The authors found that
* Among pregnant women, the age-adjusted prevalence of engaging in leisure-time exercise increased from 67.1 percent in 2001 to 73.0 percent in 2009.
* The prevalence of receiving influenza vaccination increased from 14.1 percent in 2001 to 35.1 percent in 2009.
* The prevalence of consuming any alcohol decreased from 14.1 percent in 2001 to 9.0 percent in 2008 but then increased to 14.4 percent in 2009.
* The prevalence of current smoking, binge drinking, and consuming fruits and vegetables five or more times per day changed little over the 9-year period.
* The pattern of these changes remained the same after adjustment for demographic factors, perceived health status, and insurance coverage.
* The percentage of pregnant women who engaged in all four healthy behaviors increased significantly over the 9-year period (from 7.3 percent in 2001 to 21.2 percent in 2009). In 2009, approximately 7.5 percent of pregnant women reported engaging in all five healthy behaviors.
* The presence of individual healthy behaviors or clustering thereof during pregnancy was differentially associated with sociodemographic factors, perceived health status, or health care accessibility.

“To improve the health of pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes, periconception care and public health intervention programs should seek to maximize the number of recommended healthy behaviors in pregnant women,” the authors conclude.

Zhao G, Ford ES, Tsai J, et al. 2012. Trends in health-related behavioral risk factors among pregnant women in the United States:

2001-2009. Journal of Women’s Health 21(3):225-263. Abstract available at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jwh.2011.2931.

The screening is Thursday, March 8, 2012 at The Little Theatre, 240 East Avenue, Rochester, NY  14607.

Following the film screening, please join us for a panel discussion on domestic violence, its warning signs, raising public awareness , and local resources people can turn to if they are in need of help.

For more information, call 777-1127.  To learn more about Telling Amy’s Story, visit www.telling.psu.edu

Click here for a Telling Amys Story Poster

 
The NIH Community Council is a group of consumers that explores how parents make infant feeding decisions, what information is considered, and the types of things and people that influence those decisions.  The goal is to improve breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity, and duration rates for African American and Latina women.  The Council has been meeting monthly since October, 2008. 

 
LaToya admits she did not know a lot about breastfeeding or why so few African American and Latina women weren’t able to start and continue breastfeeding exclusively after leaving the hospital, but wanted to hear more about it. So she came with a friend to the informational meeting to learn more.  LaToya laughed when she described what she remembered about that meeting, “an odd group of people — researchers, professional people, and a short black woman with a lot of energy.”  She was interested enough to come back to the next meeting, join the Council, and participate monthly for the past several years. 
Recently LaToya received her degree in the mail and announced it at a Council meeting, thanking the researchers and staff for their help and support.  LaToya used information shared at Council meetings to present to her class.  She plans to use her degree here in Rochester to help make other people’s lives better.  She credits the Community Council and staff members for inspiring her to think about human services and will be attending Kaplan University beginning in the spring to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management.   She says she won’t forget the things she’s learned participating on the Community Council, saying “it is more like a class to me, I get to share what I think, I learn more, and sometimes even change my mind.”

 
PNMC wishes LaToya continued success in her career and believes whatever she goes on to will help make the community a better and safer place in the lives of mothers, babies and their families here in the Rochester Community. 

Each year at our annual meeting, The Perinatal Network pauses to reflect on the past year’s work and to present future agency goals.  The meeting also gives us an opportunity to thank our partners and recognize individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the health of babies and their mothers.  In preparation for this year’s meeting, we are seeking your help in identifying candidates for two awards:  The Direct Service Award recognizes a front line health or human service provider who has demonstrated success in collaborating with others to improve perinatal health for individuals.  The Community Champion Award goes to an individual who has had a community-wide impact on perinatal health.  The criteria for each award are described on the nomination forms below.

Both the Community Champion Nomination Form and the Direct Service Nomination Form are available online (select the form you want to use).   Please share these nomination forms with others if you would like.  Completed forms are due back to the Perinatal Network by 4 p.m., March 30, 2012 by either mail, Fax at 585.546.3021 to the attention of Jacqueline Procope-Isaacs or e-mail to jisaacs@perinatalnetwork.net.

This year the Perinatal Network of Monroe County will host its Annual Meeting on June 7^th  from 4:00-6:30pm at the Holiday Inn Rochester Airport.  A registration form is available from our events calendar.  We do request that our honorees attend the event.

PDF versions to print, fill out and return by fax or mail:

Community Service Nomination Form (printable PDF version)

Direct Service Champion Nomination (printable PDF version)

Coughing, sneezing, and a stuffy head that keeps you from breathing — you call this a minor illness?

What’s behind them: Colds are most commonly caused by rhinoviruses; cases of the flu are caused by influenza viruses. There are some 200 or more cold viruses and an unlimited number of flu viruses (since they are constantly mutating).

What you need to know: Your immune system runs at low speed when you’re pregnant, which is a good thing, since it keeps your body from fighting off the baby — a foreigner to your body. The down side of this immune suppression, though, is that your body can’t fight off colds or flu as well as it normally does — making you extremely vulnerable to coming down with a stuffy or runny nose, a cough, or a sore throat. Colds are mostly an uncomfortable annoyance. The flu, which is more likely to announce itself with body aches, fever, and/or chills, can be more dangerous in pregnant women (which is why you should get a flu vaccine before flu season arrives).

What you can do about colds and flu during pregnancy: Since the jury is still out on decongestants and their use in pregnancy (which means you should avoid them if you can, especially during the first trimester when the fetus’s organs are forming), you should turn to more natural ways of relieving symptoms, including:

1. Rest, and plenty of it
2. Water, and plenty of it
3. Lots of clear, decaffeinated liquids, such as teas and broths
4. Orange juice or other juices with vitamin C
5. Taking your prenatal vitamin, which contains vitamin C to boost your immune system and zinc to help fight off germs. And don’t forget to get your vitamins and minerals the natural way — by eating food rich in nutrients. You can find vitamin C aplenty in citrus, strawberries, melon, kiwi, mango, papaya, broccoli, red cabbage, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, and a host of other delicious foods. Get your zinc from turkey, beef, pork, cooked oysters, yogurt, wheat germ, oatmeal, and eggs.
6. Eating fresh garlic — known to have virus-fighting compounds (if you can actually get it down), or using anti-viral spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves in your cooking
7. Humidifiers to keep the air around you moist (consider a warm mist humidifier)
8. Saltwater gargles to relieve sore throat pain (try one teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of warm water to get the fastest relief)
9. Steam inhalation or nasal lavage to relieve nasal congestion or sinus headaches (for lavage, dissolve a quarter teaspoon of salt and a tiny pinch of baking soda into eight ounces of lukewarm water, and use a nasal aspirator to irrigate — or clean — out your nasal passages)
10. Saline sprays to moisten your nasal passages (but make sure not to use the medicated sprays)

If you’re running a fever or suffering from nasty body aches or headaches, it’s generally considered safe to take products containing acetaminophen, such as Tylenol. Products containing aspirin or ibuprofen (such as Motrin or Advil) or naproxen (such as Aleve) are not recommended to take while pregnant; they can interfere with your baby’s development in the early months and create problems during labor later on. Always check with your practitioner before you take medication (prescription, over the counter, or homeopathic), or consult the instruction sheet he or she gave you on your first visit. You can also try to bring down a low-grade fever the natural way, by taking a tepid bath or shower, drinking cool beverages, and keeping clothes and covers light. But don’t take echinacea, megadoses of vitamins, or homeopathic remedies unless you talk it over first with your practitioner.

Remember that being pregnant puts you at greater risk for the flu’s more serious complications, like pneumonia. If you’re suffering from flu symptoms, it’s important to call your practitioner.

From:  www.whattoexpect.com