RESOURCES: Supporting families in the Carolinas before and after pregnancy

CHARLOTTE — Channel 9 has been digging into the alarming maternal and infant mortality rates in the Carolinas.

Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis, Genevieve Curtis, and Deneige Broom spoke with health professionals and members of our community who have faced loss and struggled with their own health. They’re helping Channel 9 shine a light on the concerning data.

See their stories:

• Health providers, doulas share mission to improve NC’s maternal mortality rate by Genevieve Curtis
• Doula advocates for Black women to be taken seriously in the delivery room by Deneige Broom
• ‘An unbearable loss’: Infant mortality higher in the Carolinas compared to national average by Elsa Gillis

We’ve compiled a list of resources for mothers, fathers, and whole families. From dealing with pregnancy loss and grief, to safe infant sleep guidelines and doula services, you’ll find a comprehensive list below.

• Care Ring North Carolina helps support low-income families in Mecklenburg County during pregnancy and after birth. For more information about their programs: Click for Care Ring’s nurse-family partnership and A Guided Journey.
• Information about doulas in Charlotte: Charlotte Doulas — Your Charlotte Doulas
• Gemma’s Hope provides practical resources and hope after pregnancy and infant loss. There are various resources, recommended books, and articles about the topic, in addition to help with everything from funeral arrangements, to finding a therapist and donating breast milk.
• KinderMourn provides hope for bereaved parents, grieving children and teens by offering support and counseling programs.
• Safe sleep guidance for newborns from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
• Place infants on their backs for sleep in their own sleep space with no other people.
• Use a crib, bassinet or portable play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet. Avoid sleep on a couch or armchair or in a seating device, like a swing or car safety seat (except while riding in the car).
• Keep loose blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, bumpers and other soft items out of the sleep space.
• More safe sleep resources:
• Safe to Sleep from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Creating a safe sleep environment for the baby (also from the DHHS)
• How to keep your sleeping baby safe from the American Academy of Pediatrics
• General guidance for parenting, which covers the prenatal stage through young adult
• Count the Kicks Campaign, which helps parents track normal baby development
• Mind Body Baby is a Charlotte nonprofit connecting moms with resources.
• Mecklenburg County has a Community Resource Assistance Guide.
• Equity Before Birth is an economic and birth justice organization.
• The Shades of Blue Project provides mental health resources for women of color before, during, and after childbirth with resources, advocacy, treatment, and support.
• The 4th Trimester Project is a village for mothers. It’s designed to provide the latest medical evidence and offer real, honest stories to help with postpartum planning.
• The CDC’s Hear Her campaign aims to prevent pregnancy-related deaths by raising awareness to improve communication between women and their doctors.

(WATCH: Pfizer to seek FDA approval for maternal RSV vaccine)

Pfizer to seek FDA approval for maternal RSV vaccine Pfizer says it will seek FDA approval of its respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, vaccine, by the end of the year. (NCD)

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