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The Maternal Health Network is committed to using the best available research to ensure the maternal health system in San Bernardino County is best positioned to support families before, during, and after pregnancy.

Black Pregnant Women "Get the Most Judgment": A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Black Women at the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Pregnancy
Researchers interviewed 24 Black pregnant women to learn about their experiences of gendered racism while pregnant and concerns about parenting Black children. The researchers supports interventions such as pregnancy support groups, broader societal conversations valuing Black women and their pregnancies, and evidence-based coping strategies.

Changes in Home Births by Race and Hispanic Origin and State of Residence of Mother: United States, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021
While home births rose an average of 2% from 1990 to 2019, they jumped 22% between 2019 and 2020, said Elizabeth Gregory, a researcher who co-authored the report. The findings offered another view of the pandemic’s effects on maternal health and how, of the nearly 52,000 home births recorded last year, the greatest increases were among Black and Hispanic women.

Spatial Access to Hospital-Based Obstetric Units in Minortized Racial/Ethnic Areas 2022
The Rural & Minority Health Research Center published this Findings Brief in August 2022 reporting disparities in geographic access to health services for places that have a relatively high proportion of residents from minoritized racial and ethnic groups.

Inequities in Adverse Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes: The Effect of Maternal Race and Nativity
Researchers aimed to assess how race and ethnicity impact maternal and perinatal outcomes among U.S.-born and foreign-born women. The researchers found that compared to foreign-born women, U.S.-born women had a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes such as preterm birth, hypertensive disorders, low birth weight at term, and NICU admission.

The influence of exercise during pregnancy on racial/ethnic health disparities and birth outcomes
This study evaluated the influence of prenatal exercise on racial/ethnic disparities in gestational age, birthweight, and risks of preterm birth, cesarean section, and low-birthweight neonates. The study concluded that prenatal exercise may attenuate the racial/ethnic disparities observed.
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Partner Influence on Health Behavior Decision-Making: Increasing Breastfeeding Duration
This study by Lynn Rempel and John Rempel in 2004 examined the influence of partners on breastfeeding and found that despite not being directly involved in the act of breastfeeding, partners’ opinions of breastfeeding influence women’s breastfeeding intentions, initiation, and duration. The study recommends including partners in health education to improve breastfeeding outcomes.

Prenatal Care Adequacy Among Women With Disabilities: A Population-Based Study
This study assessed and compared prenatal care adequacy among women without disabilities and women with physical, sensory, and intellectual/developmental disabilities. The results demonstrate that among women with disabilities, there are differences in prenatal care adequacy based on disability status. They emphasize that inequitable access to prenatal care for women with disabilities, especially those with intellectual/developmental disabilities, must be addressed.

Perceived discrimination during the childbirth hospitalization and postpartum visit attendance and content
Researchers analyzed information from the Listening to Mothers in California Survey and found that perceived discrimination was related to lower postpartum visit attendance and a lower probability of discussing birth control, depression, and breastfeeding.

Impact of Breastfeeding Interventions Among Unites States Minority Women on Breastfeeding Outcomes 2021in an American Indian Community
This study provides a systematic review the impacts of breastfeeding interventions targeting ethnic/racial minority women in the U.S.

Birth with Irth
Irth - Birth without the Bias: A Mini-Manual to Pregnancy and Childbirth for Black People

Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in postpartum consultation for mental health concerns among US mothers
Limited research has examined factors that impact access to postpartum mental healthcare. We investigated the predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with postpartum consultation for mental health concerns in US mothers with or without depressive symptoms and examined potential disparities in access.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Death Associated With Severe Maternal Morbidity in the United States: Failure to Rescue
Despite general improvements, this study finds that severe maternal morbidity continues to contribute to excess maternal mortality among racial and ethnic minorities.

The effect of solution-focused counseling on violence rate and quality of life of pregnant women at risk of domestic violence
This study assessed the effectiveness of solution-focused counseling in terms of reducing violence and improving the quality of life of women who have previously experienced domestic violence.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The authors aimed to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's access to contraceptive services, desire for pregnancy, and economic conditions.

Preterm care during the COVID-19 pandemic
A comparative risk analysis of neonatal deaths averted by kangaroo mother care versus mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Addressing maternal and child health equity through a community health worker home visiting intervention to reduce low birth weight
This quasi-experimental retrospective study aimed to assess whether participating in the Arizona Health Start Programme reduced rates of low birth weight (LBW), very LBW (VLBW), extremely LBW (ELBW), and preterm birth (PTB).

Health Information Technologies in the Support Systems of Pregnant Women
The quality and quantity of families’ support systems during pregnancy can affect maternal and fetal outcomes. The support systems of expecting families can include many elements, such as family members, friends, and work or community groups. Emerging health information technologies (eg, social media, internet websites, and mobile apps) provide new resources for pregnant families to augment their support systems and to fill information gaps.

Improving pregnant women’s diet and physical activity behaviors: the emergent role of health identity
This research article, published in 2020, presents the findings of a qualitative study that explored the factors influencing women’s diet and physical activity during pregnancy, and aimed to identify the needs of these women with regards to lifestyle support. The authors concluded that lifestyle interventions in pregnancy should be adapted to meet the needs of individuals with different health identities, and encouraging a change in health identity may be one way of supporting sustained change in health behaviors.

When and Where Birth Spacing Matters
This study addresses this issue by estimating within-family models on a sample of 4.5 million births from 77 countries at various levels of development. We show that after unobserved maternal heterogeneity is controlled for, intervals shorter than 36 months substantially increase the probability of infant death. However, the importance of birth intervals as a determinant of infant mortality varies inversely with maternal education and the strength of the relationship varies regionally.

Interpregnancy Care
Interpregnancy care aims to maximize a woman’s level of wellness not just in between pregnancies and during subsequent pregnancies, but also along her life course. Because the interpregnancy period is a continuum for overall health and wellness, all women of reproductive age who have been pregnant regardless of the outcome of their pregnancies (ie, miscarriage, abortion, preterm, full-term delivery), should receive interpregnancy care as a continuum from postpartum care.

Maternal and Infant Health Inequality
New Evidence from Linked Administrative Data: Health economists at Stanford University use linked administrative data that combines the universe of California birth records, hospitalizations, and death records with parental income from Internal Revenue Service tax records and the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics file to provide novel evidence on economic inequality in infant and maternal health.

Lactation Care Provider Demographic Survey 2019
This survey was conducted by the United States Lactation Consultant Association in 2019 to better understand the demographics of the lactation profession in the United States.
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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the United States Using Enhances Vital Records, 2016-2017
New analysis of information on death certificates from 2016 to 2017 revealed that the maternal mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black women was 3.5 times higher than among non-Hispanic white women.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the United States Using Enhanced Vital Records, 2016‒2017
Researchers studied racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality in the United States. They found that the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 3.55 times that of non-Hispanic white women.

Impact of a Community Health Worker (CHW) Home Visiting Intervention on Any and Adequate Prenatal Care Among Ethno-Racially Diverse Pregnant Women of the US Southwest
This study, published in October 2022, examined the impact of Arizona’s Health Start Program, a community health worker (CHW) home visiting intervention, on prenatal care utilization among an ethno-racially and geographically diverse cohort of women. It concluded that a CHW-led perinatal home visiting intervention operated through a state health department can improve prenatal care utilization among demographically and socioeconomically disadvantaged women and reduce maternal and child health inequity.

The Impact of Doulas on Healthy Birth Outcomes
This study reinforces the case that doula involvement is a cost-effective method to improve outcomes for mothers and infants. The study also demonstrates that doulas can have an impact beyond the birth process itself and the mother’s experience of the birth.

Expanding the International Conversation with Fathers’ Mental Health: Toward an Era of Inclusion in Perinatal Research and Practice 2021
Perinatal health is beginning to be recognized as an essential part of perinatal health. In this paper, an international team of paternal perinatal mental health experts summarize key findings in the field and provide an overview of paternal perinatal mental health, leading tools to assess paternal depression and anxiety, the impact of paternal mental health on mother and child health, and future directions for the field.

Pregnancy-Related Deaths Among American Indian or Alaska Native Persons
Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 36 US States, 2017-2019.

Cannabis-related diagnosis in pregnancy and adverse maternal and infant outcomes
The article highlights the importance of educating women about adverse outcomes that can occur during pregnancy. Including increasing prevalence of cannabis-related diagnosis (CRD) from 2011 to 2017, increased risk of all maternal and infant outcomes assessed from CRD, strongest effects for prematurity and gastrointestinal malformations, and stronger effects when another substance-related diagnosis accompanied CRD.

Grandmother and Health Care Professional Breastfeeding Perspectives Provide Opportunities for Health Promotion in an American Indian Community
This study concluded that interventions designed to raise breastfeeding rates in the study site community would ideally be grounded in tribal resources and involve a collaborative approach that engages the greater community, grandmothers, health care professionals, and scientific partners varying skills.

California Health Care Almanac: Maternity Care in California, a Bundle of Data 2019
This report provides an overview of maternity care in California, reviews the state’s performance by demographic groups, over time, and in comparison with national numbers.