Decisions about what to do to protect babies born at home from Group B Streptococcus caused quite a stir as we were developing our final regulations for the practice of Midwifery in AZ. Group B Streptococcus bacteria are commonly found in healthy women. In fact, about 25% carry the bacteria. It doesn’t cause much of [...]
As spring blooms in AZ, the change in seasons also comes with milestones for our state’s teenagers. In the next few weeks many of them will be attending proms and graduations. While proms and graduations can have positive memories, the experiences can turn tragic when alcohol is part of the mix. Alcohol impairs judgment… potentially [...]
A new study published in February by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that taking folic acid may help reduce the number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The study followed more than 85,000 children nationwide born between 2002 and 2008 and followed up with them in 2012. According to the study, [...]
What’s a Promotora? In simple terms, a Promotora is a community health worker who's a trusted member of the community and serves as a link between people and services to promote the overall health of family, friends and neighbors. Creating effective linkages between vulnerable populations and the health care system can be challenging in Arizona. Like many [...]
Valentine’s Day isn’t just a day of romance, flowers and candy. The CDC Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative launched a campaign asking all women of childbearing age to Show Your Love by taking good care of themselves. It’s a national initiative to educate women and couples on the importance of preconception health. Preconception health [...]
Taking a daily multivitamin can save babies lives by preventing birth defects. Folic acid is a B vitamin can prevent up to 70% of neural tube defects (including spina bifida and anencephaly). An average of 52 babies are born with neural tube defects in Arizona each year. The easiest way for women of childbearing age to get [...]
Last legislative session the Governor signed HB 2036- which amends state law regarding abortions. Some parts of the law are pending legal challenges, but the parts requiring us to develop a website were unaffected- and our new informed consent site just went up. The website lists agencies and services that are available to assist women throughout [...]
The March of Dimes just released its annual report card marking how well states are doing in the battle to lower the percentage of babies born prematurely. Being born too soon can cause long-term disabilities in children including cerebral palsy, developmental delay, respiratory problems and vision and hearing problems. Sadly, prematurity is also the leading [...]
Every so often- you run into a resource guide that stands above the rest. I discovered one of those a couple of weeks ago when I was at a conference with the people in my job from around the country. It’s called the Guide to Community Preventive Services – and it’s a free resource to [...]
Several prevention-related health services will be covered without cost sharing in new health plans as of a couple of weeks ago as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The changes are designed to help lower costs and outcomes for a variety of preventative women’s services. Previously, some insurance companies didn't cover some of the [...]
