Have you ever needed statistics on the rate of preterm or cesarean birth rates for your state? Infant mortality rate? A comparison of your state and a neighboring state or to the United States as a whole on one of these statistics? How about low birth weight by ethnicity or maternal age or trends over the past 10 years? Finding data and creating graphs to display them can take considerable time. The March of Dimes (MOD) PeriStats online resource for perinatal statistics compiled from the latest National Center for Health Statistics data and other sources is a great starting point. The PeriStats Web site (http://www.marchofdimes.com/peristats/) is an interactive data resource providing maternal, infant, and child health-related data at national, state, and, for many indicators, county levels. Data are also available for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Menus allow users to select the data and the level and type of display desired. In addition, site users can create and then download into a document or slide presentation, graphs and maps of maternal and infant health indicators. A summary of indicators, and changes over recent years, is available for each state as well as "quick facts" for a state or the United States.
PeriStats is one of many MOD educational resources available for perinatal and neonatal nurses. Some resources are free, others require a fee. Resources include nursing education modules and scholarships as well as patient and family resources. The MOD Nurse Advisory Council is a group of national nursing leaders who provide direction and counsel to the March of Dimes nursing education programs and graduate education scholarships as well as on a broad range of healthcare and policy issues.
Nursing education modules (celebrating 30 years!!) are developed "by nurses for nurses to integrate scientific and clinical advances into the care of mothers and babies." These modules are available at a reasonable cost for individual or group use and provide continuing education credit. Modules can be used for continuing education, in-service education, orientation, and nursing education. The most recent modules include free access to a set of PowerPoint slides covering major content in the module. Examples of modules include abuse during pregnancy, adolescent pregnancy, labor support, breast-feeding the infant with special needs, caring for multiple-birth families, cultural competencies, diabetes in pregnancy, discharge and follow-up of the high-risk preterm infant, embryonic and fetal evaluation, genetics issues, hemodynamic monitoring of the critically ill obstetric patient, interviewing techniques, loss and grieving, obstetrical emergencies, perinatal and neonatal ethics, assessment of risk in the term newborn, preterm labor, perinatal impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, postpartum care, preconception health promotion, premature infant, and sexually transmitted diseases. Modules are reviewed by content experts and updated regularly to ensure content currency. Two online modules are currently available, with more planned: "Understanding the Behavior of Term Infants" and "Preterm Labor: Prevention and Nursing Management." There is a fee for completing the on-line modules; however, free previews (requires registration) are available on the Web site; continuing education credits may be earned. A complete list of print and on-line modules is at http://www.marchofdimes.com/nursing/. Examples of other professional education include "Genetics and Your Practice," with sections for those healthcare providers working with precon-ception/prenatal, infant/children, and adole-scent/adult patients. This resource is free (registration required) at http://www.marchofdimes.com/gyponline/index.bm2.
The MOD offers four $5,000 scholarships annually to registered nurses enrolled in masters or doctoral programs with a maternal-child nursing focus "to recognize and promote excellence in the nursing care of mothers and babies." Applications are available online each fall and due in January (see http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/685_1368.asp).
A recent project for families and health professionals is NICU Family Support. This project is built on a family-centered care philosophy and focuses on the needs of parents, siblings, and extended family of newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. NICU Family Support involves partnerships between state chapters and local NICUs to address "the needs of families throughout the hospitalization, during the transition home, and in the event of a newborn death." Programs/materials developed by participating NICUs include sibling education and support, photo keepsake program, rural family support, Hispanic family support, and transition to home. The Parent Care Kit (in English or Spanish) includes booklets and videos that introduce parents to the staff, equipment, procedures, and conditions they may encounter while their baby is in the NICU. At a national level, NICU Family Support provides Web site materials to families on parenting in the NICU, coping with the NICU experience, family and friends, discharge, grief and loss, and a glossary of common NICU terms.
Other parent resources, in addition to information sheets and booklets on a variety of pregnancy and newborn topics, are an upcoming Web site for parents on infant states and cues and bereavement materials. "From Hurt to Healing" offers materials on bereavement during the perinatal period. A limited number of booklets are available free to parents or other family members who have experienced a loss. All materials included are also available for purchase or are free online at http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/572.asp.
Research grants are awarded to support research on birth defects. A current emphasis is on grants related to prematurity, including preterm birth prevention and health problems of infants born prematurely in conjunction with the MOD Prematurity Campaign. Maternal-child health program grants are funded in collaboration with local chapters. Priority is given to projects that, based on community needs, address increased access to healthcare or prevention services to help reduce preterm birth. Contact local chapters for more information and deadlines.
Susan Blackburn, PhD, RN, C, FAAN
Professor, Department of Family and Child Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle
*Susan Blackburn is a member of the March of Dimes Nurse Advisory Council and author of several nursing education modules. [Context Link]