The purpose of this toolkit is to provide hospitals and birth centers with recommendations that promote health equity and justice to better serve Black communities. The toolkit is based on the lived experiences of 85 Black families, who participated in a NICU study and is also sourced from current literature on the subject. 

This toolkit was created by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc (BMMA) as a resource to assist partners with amplifying Black Maternal Health Week 2023 (BMHW23) across their networks and channels. The toolkit includes messaging guidance around this year’s theme, Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy, along with sample social media messages, shareable graphics, a list of national digital activities, and other information to help you engage with the campaign and BMMA partners.

Esta tarjeta postal es parte de la iniciativa “La salud mental de las mamás es muy importante” del Programa Nacional de Educación de Salud Materna e Infantil (NCMHEP, por sus siglas en inglés) del Instituto Nacional de Salud Infantil y Desarrollo Humano. El NCMHEP es una alianza de más de 30 asociaciones, organizaciones y agencias federales dedicadas a la salud materna e infantil. La tarjeta postal ofrece información a las personas que están preocupadas por algún ser querido que podría tener señales de depresión y ansiedad relacionadas con el embarazo.

This tip sheet, by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Child & Maternal Health Education Program, offers guidance on how to offer support for your loved one while pregnant or following childbirth.

This clinical guide was by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) and provides comprehensive, national guidance for optimal management of pregnant and parenting women with opioid use disorder. This guide can help healthcare professionals and patients determine the most clinically appropriate action for a particular situation and informs individualized treatment decisions.

This tool, by the Center for Health Care Strategies and published in October 2022, outlines considerations for providers on how to write electronic health record (HER) notes that promote patient-centered care and dignity, include: (1) trusting patients and avoiding communicating disbelief; (2) being mindful when using quotes; (3) learning to recognize and avoid stigmatizing language; (4) focusing on positive themes and humanizing details; and (5) educating providers and providers-in-training.

Center for Health Care Strategies, October, 2022: This tool aims to help providers better understand the impact of their own bias and to better serve patients and families of color. It also includes a handout for patients and families on preparing for medical appointments, which can support effective engagement with providers.

This guide provides information about how staff in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services can provide mental health promotion, prevention, treatment, and care.

The National Fatherhood Initiative has developed this assessment for providers and organizations to use to assess the father-friendliness of your organization and gain access to strategic planning guides and case studies of how others have used the Father Friendly Check-Up.

This toolkit was developed by the National Harm Reduction Coalition in collaboration with the Academy of Perinatal Harm Reduction. It is written for pregnant and parenting people who use drugs, their loved ones, and their service providers, to start the conversation about plans, hopes, goals, and dreams. This toolkit was written, edited, and informed by people with lived experience of substance use and pregnancy.