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Maternal Health

Maternal health during and immediately after pregnancy is strongly correlated with access to and quality of prenatal medical care; nutrition; and food security. RAND's research on maternal health throughout the world includes studies of prenatal obstetric care for low-income women, the effects of public assistance on birth outcomes, maternal and infant mortality, family planning and birth spacing, prenatal substance use, and maternal mental health.

Journal Article
State Experiences Linking Medicaid Data With Birth Certificates and Other Data Sources
We completed a literature review, developed an inventory of linkage efforts, and facilitated discussions to understand the technical details, experiences creating and maintaining linkages, and barriers or facilitators to establishing linkages.
May 4, 2023
Journal Article
Changes in Breastfeeding and Lactation Support Experiences During COVID
RAND researchers surveyed parents who gave birth from 2019 to 2021 to examine changes in breastfeeding experiences and professional and lay breastfeeding support services due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Apr 27, 2023
Journal Article
COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Attitudes Among Pregnant and Postpartum Parents
This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine uptake and reasons for delay or refusal among perinatal parents.
Jan 24, 2023
Journal Article
Seven Features of Safety in Maternity Units: A Framework Based on Multisite Ethnography and Stakeholder Consultation
In this article we aim to characterise features of safety in maternity units and to generate a plain language framework that could be used to guide learning and improvement.
Dec 8, 2022
Q&A
Abortion After the Dobbs Decision: Q&A with RAND Researchers
The overturning of Roe v. Wade is likely to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including U.S. service women and pregnant women with substance use disorders. And abortion misinformation will likely increase. RAND researchers discuss these issues and potential policy responses.
Oct 25, 2022
Journal Article
Linking Medicaid Claims, Birth Certificates, and Other Sources to Advance Maternal and Infant Health
Medicaid claims linked with birth certificates and other data can be used for maternal and infant health research. We reviewed literature and facilitated group discussions with representatives from nine states to better understand linkage efforts.
Oct 20, 2022
Journal Article
The Impact of Panel Composition and Topic on Stakeholder Perspectives: Generating Hypotheses from Online Maternal and Child Health Modified-Delphi Panels
This study develops hypotheses about the impact of panel composition and topic on the propensity and meaningfulness of response changes in multistakeholder modified-Delphi panels.
Sep 21, 2022
Commentary
How Policies That Punish Pregnant Women Backfire
There is overwhelming evidence and consensus from the medical and public health communities that supportive approaches are what help pregnant women with substance use disorders. Unfortunately, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has opened the door for more policies that police and punish women rather than these solutions that can save lives.
Aug 2, 2022
Commentary
Countering Abortion Misinformation in the Post-Roe Environment
Misinformation could become a major barrier to individuals trying to find safe, legal, and quality reproductive care. How might states, health insurers, and technology companies address this problem?
Jul 6, 2022
Journal Article
Lessons Learned Recruiting and Retaining Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals in Digital Trials
We collaborated to share lessons learned from our experiences recruiting and retaining pregnant and postpartum individuals in digital trials of social and behavioral interventions.
Mar 8, 2022
Journal Article
Cannabis Legalization and Cannabis-Involved Pregnancy Hospitalizations in Colorado
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the association between presence of recreational cannabis dispensaries and prevalence of cannabis-involved pregnancy hospitalizations in Colorado.
Mar 4, 2022
Journal Article
Impact of Telelactation Services on Breastfeeding Outcomes Among Black and Latinx Parents: Protocol for the Tele-MILC Randomized Controlled Trial
We present a protocol for the digital Tele-MILC trial, which uses mixed methods to evaluate the impact of telelactation services on breastfeeding outcomes.
Mar 4, 2022
Journal Article
Tackling Persistent and Large Disparities in Birth Outcomes in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
The IMPreSIv database allowed us to summarize the maternal health, behavioral, and contextual factors associated with birth outcomes and describe the participation rates in available medical and community setting interventions in Allegheny County.
Jan 5, 2022
Journal Article
Money and My Mind: Maternal Cash Transfers and Mental Health
This paper documents important mental health spillovers in the context of a program that offered pregnant women modest cash incentives to use pre- and perinatal health care services.
Nov 10, 2021
Journal Article
In Nigeria, Stillbirths And Newborn Deaths Increased During The COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 increased the number of stillbirths and newborn deaths in Nigeria.
Nov 3, 2021
Blog
Nuclear Deterrence, COVID-19 and Infant Deaths, Criminal Justice Reform: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the United States doesn’t need more nuclear weapons, increased infant deaths during the pandemic, preventing veteran suicide, and more.
Oct 22, 2021
Blog
Pandemic-Era Parties, China's Global Influence, Reducing Infant Mortality: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on assessing the risk of small gatherings during the pandemic, China's ability to exert influence around the world, using big data to help reduce infant mortality, and more.
Jul 2, 2021
Essay
Reducing Disparities in Infant Mortality: Using Big Data to Help Babies at Risk
Black babies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and across America—face much higher mortality rates than white babies. Researchers pulled together thousands of data points on more than 150,000 births to better predict who is at risk and how to help them.
Jul 1, 2021
Commentary
Mothers Need a Continuous System of Care Even After Babies Are Born
In the United States, babies are born into a system of well-child care—a series of planned health care visits designed to protect their health from day one through age six. But no such system exists for their mothers. How do we create a system of health care for mothers that mirrors well-child care?
May 10, 2021
Report
Informing the Development of Standardized Clinical Definitions of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: Results of Two Modified-Delphi Expert Panels
The authors describe the results of two modified-Delphi expert panels used to inform the work of a federal steering committee on the development of clinical definitions of neonatal abstinence syndrome and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.
May 3, 2021

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Lisa Sontag-Padilla

Behavioral and Social Scientist

Lisa Sontag-Padilla is a behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has over 15 years of research experience focusing on youth mental health and well-being, as well as expertise in college mental health, social emotional well-being, parent-child relationships, research design,…
Marylou Gilbert

Program Manager, Pardee RAND Graduate School Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream

Marylou Gilbert is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, as well as a program manager of Pardee RAND Graduate School's Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream, coordinator for the Pardee RAND Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, and coordinator for the RAND Center on Housing…

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