Maternal Health

Substance Abuse
commentary
Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help Mother or Baby
Laura J. Faherty @LauraFahertyMD
Jan 28, 2020
Tennessee Justice Center
About half of all U.S. states now have policies that criminalize substance use during pregnancy, consider it grounds for civil commitment, or consider it child abuse or neglect. But research suggests that punitive policies aren't beneficial for infants or their mothers.
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Maternal Health
blog
Infectious Diseases, Zimbabwe, Students with Disabilities: RAND Weekly Recap
Feb 14, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the U.S. response to infectious diseases, Zimbabwe after Mugabe, the support for students with disabilities, and more.
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Media Literacy
blog
How Americans Get the News, Iran, Caregiving: RAND Weekly Recap
Dec 13, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on how Americans consume the news, U.S.–Iranian relations, how federal disability payments help caregivers, and more.
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Maternal Health
commentary
Meghan Markle May Avoid the Spotlight After Giving Birth and Send a Powerful Public Health Message
Sarah MacCarthy
Apr 11, 2019
USA Today
Meghan Markle plans to break from royal tradition by declining to present her baby to the public on the the steps of the maternity ward, hours after giving birth, with flawless hair and makeup. This could bring attention to many of the postpartum challenges faced by women everywhere.
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Gender Equity in the Workplace
commentary
Is It Time to Extend Maternity Leave Across Europe?
Lucy Strang, Miriam Broeks
Sep 13, 2016
EurActiv
Any policy solution for extending maternity leave must strike a balance between protecting infant health through extended breastfeeding and mitigating any potentially negative impact on the mother's career progression or increased costs to business.
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Family Planning
commentary
The Economic Rationale for Investing in Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa
Peter Glick, Sebastian Linnemayr
Aug 3, 2016
The World Bank Investing in Health Blog
Proven benefits to reduced fertility — or to delayed start to childbearing and greater spacing between births — include lower maternal mortality, fewer unsafe abortions, reduced risks from early childbearing, and women's ability to engage in more income-generating opportunities.
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Depression
commentary
New Depression-Screening Guidelines Could Help Both Mother and Child
Dana Schultz
Mar 18, 2016
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Behavioral health professionals and community agencies often do not consider the impact of parental depression on young children or focus on the adult's role as a parent. New guidelines recommending depression screening during primary care visits for pregnant women and new mothers are a critical first step.
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Africa
commentary
Africa Succeeds in Meeting Many Long-Term U.N. Development Goals
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Dec 7, 2015
The RAND Blog
Over the past decade and half, Africa has made great strides toward meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, eight objectives that included halving extreme poverty rates, providing universal primary education, and ending the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
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Health Care Costs
commentary
A Tale of Two Deliveries, or an Out-of-Network Problem
Erin Audrey Taylor, Layla Parast
Nov 4, 2015
Health Affairs Blog
Two mothers gave birth within weeks of each other, at the same hospital, using the same employer-sponsored insurance. Both had an epidural. But one received a surprise physician bill for anesthesiology, while the other didn't have to pay a dime. Why?
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Maternal Health
commentary
Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Jul 1, 2015
The RAND Blog
Worldwide, nearly 800 women die every day due to mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than half of these deaths occur in fragile states torn by armed conflict and generalized violence.
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Developing Countries
commentary
Insurance and Incentives: A Dual Approach to Try to Improve Maternal Health in Nigeria
Adeyemi Theophilus Okunogbe
Jun 10, 2014
The RAND Blog
Less than 5% of Nigerians have insurance; two-thirds of all health care costs are paid out of pocket. When people must pay out of pocket for health care at the point of service, this restricts access, excludes the poorest and most vulnerable, and leads to delays in patients seeking help.
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Developing Countries
commentary
Maternal Deaths: Turning the Tide in a Nigerian State
Adeyemi Theophilus Okunogbe
Apr 16, 2014
The RAND Blog
Bold and innovative approaches are being developed in different parts of the African continent in the quest to reduce maternal mortality. A noteworthy example of this is the Abiye Safe Motherhood program in Ondo State, Nigeria.
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Quoted

If people can come together around COVID-19, and all developments are showing that they can, then perhaps they can be equally innovative in tackling many of the more silent 'COVIDs' of the time—i.e., the less immediately impactful but equally urgent and important challenges associated with aging and frailty, mental health, cancer, comorbidities, and health inequalities as just some examples.

Sonja Marjanovic

Senior Research Leader and Head of THIS Institute-RAND Europe partnership

Source: The RAND Blog

The price to be paid for not doing everything possible to impede the spread of the pandemic in terms of readiness and letting soldiers (along with their families and any other civilians with whom they interact) get sick could be significant.

Michael Shurkin

Senior Political Scientist

Source: War on the Rocks

The Defense Industrial Base Needs a Cyber Protection Program

Supporting Students' College and Career Pathways: Teacher and Principal Perspectives

Amidst a Pandemic, a Mental Health Crisis May Be Looming

The COVID-19 Crisis Has Sparked Innovation and Offers Lessons We Must Not Forget

The Economic Impacts of COVID-19

The Policy Currents Podcast

Helping Children Cope with Trauma: A School-Based Intervention

Planning for the Rising Costs of Dementia

Addressing the Invisible Wounds of War

Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change

Maternal Health

Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help Mother or Baby

Infectious Diseases, Zimbabwe, Students with Disabilities: RAND Weekly Recap

How Americans Get the News, Iran, Caregiving: RAND Weekly Recap

Meghan Markle May Avoid the Spotlight After Giving Birth and Send a Powerful Public Health Message

Is It Time to Extend Maternity Leave Across Europe?

The Economic Rationale for Investing in Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa

New Depression-Screening Guidelines Could Help Both Mother and Child

Africa Succeeds in Meeting Many Long-Term U.N. Development Goals

A Tale of Two Deliveries, or an Out-of-Network Problem

Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones

Insurance and Incentives: A Dual Approach to Try to Improve Maternal Health in Nigeria

Maternal Deaths: Turning the Tide in a Nigerian State

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