Declaring that “no pregnant woman in New York should be forced to choose between a paycheck and a check-up,” NY Governor Kathy Hochul has launched the New York State Paid Prenatal Leave Law, which went into effect January 1st and is the first of its kind in the U.S. Now all full- and part-time pregnant […]
Today, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a study on the rate of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) during the pandemic (2019-2020). The rate of SUID overall remained the same from previous years but the rate among Black infants increased. The rates of SUID for infants born to Black families is now 2.3 times […]
Yesterday, the March of Dimes issued its 2022 Report Card on U.S. preterm birth rates, and it tells us that the national rate is now 10.5% — a 4% increase over 2021 and the highest recorded rate since 2007, earning a grade of D+. The report also includes a grade and rates for each state […]
April 12, 2021, New Canaan, CT – First Candle, the national non-profit committed to ending Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), has announced the formation of a standing Public Health Advisory Committee of health care professionals and advocates to address racial disparity, health equity and implicit bias in maternal and infant health practices and their impacts […]
The United States is often assumed to be one of the safest places in the world in which to give birth. But the truth is, national maternal mortality rates have been steadily climbing for decades. In fact, the prevalence of pregnancy-related maternal deaths has more than doubled in the US since 1987, from 7.2 deaths […]
New Canaan, CT – The following is a statement from First Candle CEO and Executive Director Alison Jacobson regarding NICHD’s decision to release a strategic plan that excludes resources to battle SIDS. “The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) decision to release a strategic plan that places no priority […]
It is Medication Safety Week and we interviewed Dr. Agnes Scoville, an emergency medicine doctor in Los Angeles, California, to discuss medication safety with babies. According to Dr. Scoville, “Many medical studies show that babies frequently get the wrong dose of medicine, in part because they spit it out. Up to 50% of babies receive the wrong […]