Now is the Perfect Time to Discuss Folic Acid!

by Jennifer Vickery, NCPHC Western Region Coordinator (pictured)

Let’s face it, life can be crazy! Lots of twists and unexpected turns and with these twists and turns life often presents numerous exciting adventures. For some people these exciting adventures may include having children some point along the way. Whether you or your partner are planning to become pregnant in the coming months or years, did you know all women of childbearing age, which are roughly ages 14 through 44, are encouraged to take a daily multivitamin? Women of childbearing age should take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day. This daily consumption of folic acid can greatly reduce your chances of having a baby born with a neural tube defect.

If taken before pregnancy, folic acid can prevent up to 70 percent of neural tube defects (NTDs), a group of serious birth defects including spina bifida and anencephaly. NTDs happen when the neural tube, which forms the brain and spine, fails to close properly around the fourth week of pregnancy. Often before some women are even aware they are pregnant. This can result in physical abnormalities, with varying degrees of disability, and can even be fatal. NTDs are common birth defects that occur in about 200 pregnancies each year in North Carolina.

Research suggests that folic acid may help decrease risks for birth defects of the heart, urinary tract and cleft lip/palate. Additional studies have found that folic acid may have other health benefits, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cervical and colon cancer, and depression. Folic acid, along with many of the other vitamins in a daily multivitamin, is essential for a healthy body on the inside and out. Because folic acid is responsible for cell growth, for many people multivitamins can make a big difference in the health of your hair, nails, and skin.

A multivitamin with folic acid helps women maintain good health, whether or not they are planning a pregnancy. Two-thirds of women in the United States don’t consume enough folic acid and/or folate. Folate and folic acid are forms of a B9 vitamin. Folate occurs naturally in food, and folic acid is the synthetic form of this vitamin. Since 1998, folic acid has been added to cold cereals, flour, bread, pasta, bakery items, cookies, crackers, and nutrition bars, as required by federal law. Foods naturally high in folate include leafy green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, and lettuce), orange juice, beans (especially black-eyed peas), avocado, kiwi, cantaloupe, paprika, tahini, and arugula.

However, even if you eat healthy every day, it’s almost impossible to obtain the recommended amount of folic acid or folate from food alone. In addition, folate absorption depends on the food itself, how it is cooked and the individual’s ability to metabolize it. For example, in order to obtain your daily amount of folate from food alone, you would need to eat 14 cups of broccoli or one loaf of bread or drink an entire container of orange juice to get the proper amount of folate daily. Obviously consuming this much broccoli, bread, or orange juice would be unhealthy and counterproductive to achieving your overall health goals. Therefore, the easy solution is to take a daily multivitamin to achieve the recommended folic acid dosage.

Because our bodies can only absorb about half of the folate we consume, a multivitamin is the best way to get folic acid into your body. A daily multivitamin makes up for what women lack in daily nutrition. Check the bottle label to make sure the multivitamin has 400 mcg of folic acid. Generic multivitamins work just as well as brand names – but cost half the price!

Understanding the great impact folic acid has in the health of women and babies in North Carolina, the March of Dimes NC Preconception Health Campaign and NC Division of Public Health Women’s Health Branch partnered to provide multivitamins with folic acid to women through health departments and other safety net providers. The program includes the purchase and distribution of multivitamins, training for the local health department and community health center staff and technical assistance for participating agencies as they set up this program. For more information about NCPHC, please click here.

Jennifer Vickery is the Western Regional Coordinator for the March of Dimes NC Preconception Health Campaign and a Preconception Health Education Coordinator at Mission Health Fullerton Genetics Center.

The March of Dimes North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign Webinar Series is back! To receive updates about our important webinars, join our newsletter email list!

Please note: no credit is given for past webinars. You must attend the live webinar to receive CEUs.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
NC AHEC is a 2018 NASW-NC approved provider of distance continuing education.

NCPHC CELEBRATES NATIONAL PRIMARY CARE WEEK

NCPHC is recognizing the primary care health providers across NC that are positively influencing their communities and making an impact! In conjunction with National Primary Care Week (NPCW) October 1-5, we are calling for nominations of NC health providers. Winners will be featured on our Every Woman NC and Latina Sana NC websites, our October newsletter, and across our social media platforms in English and Spanish.

From now until September 21, nominate your favorite health care provider and tell us why they deserve to be part of the “Winner’s Circle of Providers” during NPCW.

Submit nominations to ncpreconceptionhealth@marchofdimes.org or submit your nomination here. If you are emailing, please include the following information and the subject line “NCPHC Primary Care Week 2018”:

• Your Name
• Your Email Address
• Nominee’s Name
• Nominee’s Email Address
• Tell us about the nominee’s good work in at least 150 words

Final Nomination Deadline: 11:59 pm, September 21, 2018

Winners will be notified by email on September 28

PARTNER HIGHLIGHT

NCPHC recently held a scholarship contest which provided the winner the opportunity to attend the Perinatal Mental Health Postpartum International Training in April 2018. Congrats to our winner: Elizabeth Weidner of the HOPE Women and Family Support team! Below is her winning entry.

1. Why is perinatal mood disorder awareness important?

While having a child is an exciting event in a woman’s life, it also brings a great deal of pressure, stress, and anxiety, as her hormones fluctuate in different directions during her pregnancy and postpartum, or fourth trimester, period.  Though this is a normal occurrence in the biological system, a new mother may not have the ability to identify and control such swings and handle a crying or colicky newborn at the same time.  Identifying and preparing for this during this period in the mother and the newborn’s life can help to make things go easier.  Support is key in aiding the mother in both nursing and caring for the baby.  Many women have no idea to what degree her emotions will change within a day or a few hours and being coached through this by someone who knows and is trained is key as this condition can and does impact her ability to care for her newborn and affects how she is able to nurse and provide the nutrition the baby needs.  This can cause a domino effect of added stress of being a failure at being a mother and as a human being!  Is there support for the mother during this time?  She needs help through this initial period of parenthood, does she have it within the family?  If not, this can have a detrimental impact on both the mother and child, along with the entire family.  Confusion, depression, loss of control of her emotions are all conditions that need sensitive and caring support from a trained doula that understands the condition and can be an invaluable coach.  Good nutrition, rest, exercise, and educating the mother ahead of the birth can also help her to understand and prepare for crazy times during the fourth trimester.

2. Describe your interest/experience in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD).

My interest in this situation is from personal experience with postpartum depression with 2 of my three children.  It is a dark and scary time for the mother compound the hormone fluctuation and mood swings, depression, this can cause havoc in this delicate time in an infant’s life.  I had a very supportive husband, but he was not aware of the hormonal changes that occurred, he also was not able to coach me through these bouts and we both ended up with real struggles in getting along and maintaining peace within the home for all family members.   Nursing was a struggle and at times failure, nights were long, and tempers were short.  By my third child, my husband and I became a team to be reckoned with, but there was a learning curve.  Depression and emotions are very difficult to control at times.

3. How you will use this information in your daily work?

As a team member with the new organization in Greenville, NC called, HOPE, Women and Family support, I will be a postpartum doula for new mothers in Pitt County when needed.  I will also be working with the others in HOPE with information and public awareness of this crucial time in a family and the service we will be providing for the families in Pitt County and surrounding areas.  The information that I wish to obtain from this two-day postpartum certificate program will enable me to be a supportive coach and doula for new mothers and the next generation to come.

Sarah Verbiest, DrPH, MSW, MPH has more than two decades of experience implementing strategies and evidence-based interventions to improve the health and wellness of women and infants. She has a keen interest in improving systems that contribute to missed opportunities for women, babies, and families and has produced several peer-reviewed publications on the topic. As the CDC Senior Advisor to the National Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative, Dr. Verbiest has led a group of over 100 stakeholders in a public private partnership aimed at improving the health of young adults prior to pregnancy. Her recent experience with the 4^th Trimester PCORI project has provided Dr. Verbiest with valuable knowledge in designing participatory research projects with postpartum women to understand their unmet needs.

Dr. Verbiest’s current project focuses on Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Networks (CoIIN) to Reduce Infant Mortality is built on the application of human centered design thinking to improve the well woman visit. As the executive director of the Center for Maternal and Infant Health, she coordinates a team of health care professionals, researchers, and program managers who serve families with infants who are medically fragile and coordinate prevention programs to improve health across the state. As a social worker, Dr. Verbiest has a firm commitment to listening to the voices of
women.

Women’s health from preconception through postpartum has often been overlooked and under-researched. Recently, however, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of a woman’s preconception and postpartum health on women’s future wellbeing and infant health. A large portion of Dr. Verbiest’s work has focused on promoting maternal postpartum health in particular studying how the various systems that women in the postpartum period could be changed to better fit the needs of postpartum women. Specifically, she and her team have found that flexible, integrated health care services and mother-centered care are key factors in promoting women’s health. Several organizational and policy recommendations were drafted as a result of these findings.

In addition to studying the systems that interact with postpartum women, Dr. Verbiest has had the opportunity to research the unmet needs of postpartum women and their barriers to health care. The research which Dr. Verbiest has conducted has also covered in depth analysis of the current healthcare system and its impact on women’s health. This research has focused on identifying how to advance and improve healthcare systems to better serve the needs of women.

Dr. Verbiest has held several honorable positions, including the Fellow, William Friday Fellowship on Human Relations, Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI) in 2005, Board Member, William Friday Fellowship on Human Relations, WLI in 2015, and John A. Tate Early Career Scholars for Children in Need Distinguished Professorship in 2018.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rocío Anderson, Director of Health Education for Maternal Child Health and NICU
Direct Phone: 919-424-2149
Email: mail@marchofdimes.org

Annual Forum for Public Professionals Hosted at WakeMed’s Andrews Center

Raleigh, NC – April 18, 2018 – March of Dimes North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign (NCPHC) is hosting its annual forum, “Continuing Strides: Preconception Health’s Journey to a Healthier North Carolina,” Thursday, May 3 at the Andrews Center in Raleigh, NC.

This forum aims to increase provider awareness about the importance of preconception health care to help prevent infant mortality and improve maternal child health, encouraging providers to view every patient’s encounter as an opportunity to discuss preconception health and assess and modify risk factors for adverse perinatal outcomes.

Registration is required for attendance, seating is limited, and continuing education credits will be administered by Wake AHEC to qualifying professionals. Local organizations are invited to exhibit during the forum. Interested parties must email Rocío Anderson, Director of Health Education for Maternal Child Health and NICU Innovation at March of Dimes.

NCPHC is honored to have Sarah Verbiest, DrPH, MSW, MPH as the forum’s keynote speaker. Dr. Verbiest has spent more than 20 years working to improve the health of women and babies in North Carolina and the southeast, working as a program leader, strategic planner, educator, social worker, lobbyist, fundraiser, connector, systems-thinker, manager, researcher, and partner. She is the executive director of the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health, clinical associate professor in the UNC School of Social Work, co-founder and director of the Every Woman Southeast Coalition, and senior advisor to the National Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative (PCHHC).

NCPHC is a statewide initiative aimed at improving birth outcomes in North Carolina by reaching and educating women and men, health care professionals and community-based organizations. The Campaign provides training and programs on folic acid, reproductive life planning, healthy weight, and tobacco cessation. Other training programs include the annual Preconception Health Webinar Series, Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait^®, and school-based curricula “Healthy Before Pregnancy” and “Healthy Squared: Now & Later.” For the latest resources and information, visit everywomannc.org.

About March of Dimes:

For 80 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs. Find out how you can help raise funds to prevent premature birth and birth defects by registering for March for Babies at marchforbabies.org. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.org and find us on Facebook and on Twitter.

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By Kweli Rashied-Henry, March of Dimes Director of Health Equity 

Frederick Douglass once said “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” As a country, we have made tremendous strides in the health of all populations since this famed abolitionist spoke these words in the mid-19^th century. Overall life expectancy has increased and infant death before the age of one has declined. However, health is still experienced disproportionately in the United States.

Nearly twenty years ago, April was established as National Minority Health Month to encourage health and health equity partners and stakeholders to work together on initiatives to reduce disparities, advance equity, and strengthen the health and well-being of all Americans. In the U.S., racial and ethnic disparities (or inequities) in preterm birth are worsening. Black women are about 50 percent more likely to give birth prematurely compared to other women and their babies are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday compared to babies born to white women. This stark reality signals the need for health equity, which means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. It also signals the need for healthy moms before, during and after pregnancy.

Being healthy across the course of one’s life is essential for having a healthy baby in the future. Most of us recognize the importance of prenatal care during pregnancy. Experts also advise screenings for medical and social risk factors, providing health education, and delivering effective treatment or prevention plans as a set of practices that could improve health prior to conception. Women and men of reproductive age who improve their preconception health can increase their likelihood of having a healthy baby if and when they desire. In short, healthy moms and dads can lead to stronger babies. Yet disparities can be stubborn and may require more than simply changing behavior.

According to the Office of Minority Health, your zip code can be a predictor of your health. In other words, your place of birth, where you work and play, your income and education, and a host of other factors – in addition to the choices you make each day about what to eat, when to work out and whether or not to see a doctor can impact your health. These factors are often referred to as the “social determinants of health,” and they contribute to health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities in America. “Addressing the social determinants is key to ensuring that every baby is born healthy regardless of wealth, race or geography.”

According to the Pew Research Center, rapid growth among minority populations is projected by 2050.  If this trend holds, many of tomorrow’s parents will come from communities that share a disproportionate burden of preterm birth and infant death. Although advances in medicine and technology were likely responsible for much of the improvements in these health outcomes in the U.S. over the years, it is also likely that the collective actions of everyday people has helped us realize that better health is not just for ourselves but for future generations. Looking back on this progress can surely help us look forward to what it will take for our babies to continue to grow and thrive.  National Minority Health Month is a special occasion for us to acknowledge the struggles that continue to evade us and what’s needed to support future generations.

This article was shared with the permission of the author. View the original post on the March of Dimes News Moms Need Blog

For more than 30 years, Belinda has worked in public health, creating positive change for North Carolina’s women and children.

Since November 1995, she has been with the North Carolina Division of Public Health, Women’s and Children’s Health Section (Title V) working in multiple capacities, including Program Manager for Healthy Beginnings and Healthy Start Baby Love Plus (3 federally funded perinatal disparities programs), and just before becoming Head of the Women’s Health Branch, Belinda served for 12 years as the Perinatal Health and Family Support Unit Supervisor.

In her role as Branch Head, Belinda provides oversight and guidance to the state’s maternal health, family planning, preconception health, teen pregnancy prevention, sickle cell, tobacco use, and numerous programs focused on equity in birth outcomes.

Belinda has been successfully leading the Perinatal Strategic Plan since 2016.  The plan is a collaboration from partners around NC working to improve the health of women and men of childbearing age, babies, and address infant mortality and maternal health in NC.

She has served on and chaired several national and state committees, including the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Workforce Leadership Committee, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Expert Panel on Preconception Health and Healthcare, and NC Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN).

In addition, she co-chairs the Perinatal Health Committee of the Child Fatality Task Force (CFTF) within the state.  The CFTF is a legislative study commission directed by the NC General Assembly. Belinda serves on the board of AMCHP and the National Healthy Start Association Board of Directors.

Belinda received her Masters of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and undergraduate degrees from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.

The March of Dimes North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign Webinar Series starts in January! You’re invited to participate in five free webinars focused on improving the health of women prior to pregnancy and aiming towards better birth outcomes. Click the titles for a quick description of each webinar and don’t forget to register!

The topics we’ll cover include: