Women's Health Issues
Volume 18, Issue 6, Supplement , Pages S10-S12 , November 2008

Marching Forward: Action Steps to Optimize the Health of Women and Babies

  • Jennifer L. Howse, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, March of Dimes Foundation, 1275 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605.

Received 20 August 2008 ,Accepted 20 August 2008.

References 

  1. Amaro H, Fried LE, Cabral H, Zuckerman B. Violence during pregnancy and substance use. American Journal of Public Health. 1990;80:575–579
  2. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . Access to women's health care. Statement of policy. Washington, DC: Author; 2006;
  3. Atrash HK, Johnson K, Adams M, Cordero JF, Howse J. Preconception care for improving outcomes: The time to act. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2006;10:S3–S11
  4. In:  Behrman RE,  Stith-Butler A editor. Preterm birth: Causes, consequences, and prevention. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2007;
  5. Biermann J, Dunlop AL, Brady C, Dubin C, Brann A. Promising practices in preconception care for women at risk for poor health and pregnancy outcomes. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2006;10(Suppl. 5):S21–S28
  6. Canady RB, Tiedje LB, Lauber C. Preconception care and pregnancy planning: Voices of African American women. MCN The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing. 2008;33:90–97
  7. Chuang CH, Green MJ, Chase GA, Dyer AM, Ural SH, et al. Perceived risk of preterm and low-birthweight birth in the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008;199:64.e1–64.e7Epub 2008 May 2
  8. Coker AL, Sanderson M, Dong B. Partner violence during pregnancy and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. 2004;18:260–269
  9. Collins JW, David RJ, Handler A, Wall S, Andes S. Very low birthweight in African American infants: The role of maternal exposure to interpersonal racial discrimination. Epidemiology. 2004;11:337–339
  10. Dole N, Savitz DA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Siega-Riz AM, McMahon MJ, Puekens P. Maternal stress and preterm birth. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2003;157:14–24
  11. Hobel CJ, Goldstein A, Barrett ES. Psychosocial stress and pregnancy outcome. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008;51:333–348
  12. Institute of Medicine . Health Insurance is a Family Matter. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2002;
  13. Johnson K, Posner SF, Biermann J, Cordero JF, Atrash HK, Parker CS, et al. CDC/ATSDR Preconception Care Work Group; Select Panel on Preconception Care Recommendations for improving preconception health and health care—United States: A report of the CC/ATSDR Preconception Care Workgroup and the Select Panel on Preconception Care. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2006;55(No. RR-6):1–23
  14. Lu Q, Lu MC, Dunkell Schetter C. Learning from success and failure in psychosocial intervention: An evaluation of low birth weight prevention trials. J Health Psych. 2005;10:185–195
  15. Lu MC, Chen B. Racial and ethnic disparities in preterm birth: The role of stressful life events. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2004;191:691–699
  16. National Center for Health Statistics. (2008). Infant mortality statistics from the 2005 period linked birth/infant death data set, Vol. 57, No. 2, of the National Vital Statistics Report. Available: www.cdc.gov/nchs. Accessed August 11, 2008.
  17. March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation . March of Dimes Updates: Is early prenatal care too late?. Contemporary Ob/Gyn. 2002;12:54–72
  18. March of Dimes . Improving preconception health: Women's knowledge and use of folic acid. Conducted by the Gallup Organization. White Plain, NY: Author; 2007;
  19. Mennuti MT. Genetic screening in reproductive health care. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008;51:3–23
  20. Misra DP, Guyer B, Allston A. Integrated perinatal health framework. A multiple determinants model with a life span approach. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2003;25:65–75
  21. Pear, R. (2005, May 29). Health leaders seek consensus over uninsured. The New York Times. Available: http://www.nytimes.com. Accessed May 29, 2005.
  22. Posner SF, Johnson K, Parker C, Atrash H, Biermann J. The national summit on preconception care: A summary of concepts and recommendations. Maternal Child Health Journal. 2006;10(Suppl. 5):S197–S205

 Dr. Howse has served as president of the March of Dimes Foundation since 1990, achieving significant gains for mothers and infants including the successful national folic acid campaign and the launch of a National Prematurity Prevention Campaign. She is an honorary fellow at both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and serves on the boards of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and Partnership for Prevention.

 The author has no direct financial interests that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted manuscript.

PII: S1049-3867(08)00132-1

doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2008.08.006

Women's Health Issues
Volume 18, Issue 6, Supplement , Pages S10-S12 , November 2008