Maternal and Child Health Resource Repository

The AHA Aug. 26 responded to a request for information as part of the introduction of the Healthy Moms and Babies Act, bipartisan legislation that seeks to improve maternal and child health by increasing services and support and coordinating care.

Columbus Community Hospital in Columbus, Neb., is striving to improve maternal health outcomes through the newly launched Postpartum Alert: A Life-Saving Maternal Safety Initiative.

AHA responds to the Healthy Moms and Babies Act request for information on a low-volume payment adjustment for home health models for pregnant and postpartum women.

To help ease the stress and anxiety that many women experience during labor —especially those with a history of trauma or long inductions — the Labor and Delivery team at Logan Health Medical Center has developed the “ Labor of Love” cart, a menu of thoughtfully curated items designed to create a calming and personalized birthing environment.

For kids with cancer, challenges often don’t end when cancer ends. Returning to school can be uniquely difficult.

The Health Resources and Services Administration is requesting public comments on its recommendation to add metachromatic leukodystrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel. The RUSP is a list of disorders that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services recommends for states to screen as part of their state universal newborn screening programs.

The Department of Health and Human Services Aug. 14 announced it will reinstate the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, a federal panel to provide oversight on vaccines for U.S. children.

Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., unveiled its mobile mammography bus, a state-of-the-art unit equipped with 3D imaging technology, with the goal of expanding access to life-saving breast cancer screenings across Louisiana and parts of Mississippi.

The Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology divisions at the Medical University of South Carolina teamed up to create and test an algorithm for treating children with sickle cell disease who arrived at the ED with a fever. The algorithm helps providers better determine which kids should be admitted and who should go home for treatment with close follow-up from the hospital.

Hypospadias, a birth defect that results in a baby boy’s urethra forming at the underside of the penis rather than the tip, is commonly corrected through a surgery performed six months to a year after birth.

The Cruise to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, is an annual convoy of classic and modified cars, parading past the hospital for patients’ enjoyment.

The AHA and Epic are collaborating to help more hospitals consider adopting a set of tools to aid in the detection and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).

Nearly 57% of mothers did not attend a postpartum follow-up visit three to eight weeks after giving birth, according to a report published July 29 by Cedar Gate Technologies.

Kindergarten vaccination rates declined during the 2024-25 school year, according to data released July 31 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coverage for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, among others, declined in more than half of all states compared to the previous school year.

The Senate Appropriations Committee July 31 advanced the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and other agencies by a bipartisan 26-3 vote. The bill provides approximately $197 billion in discretionary funding.

As part of an effort to prioritize mental health services, St. Jude Medical Center has established a number of behavioral health programs over the last five years, including school-based mental health services and the Each Mind Matters/Promise to Talk campaign.

SSM Health Hospitals in Missouri are taking a proactive role in combating the state’s high infant mortality rates through their Infant Safe Sleep Program.

The Joint Commission July 29 announced an initiative to address “gaps” in how children’s hospitals are accredited and certified.

Five pediatric flu deaths were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, pushing the total to 266 for the 2024-2025 flu season, according to the latest data.

AHA and Epic work to expand hospital use of tools that detect and treat postpartum hemorrhage, a serious childbirth complication.