Maternal and Child Health Commons^™

Improving Access To Community Resources For Mothers In Southern New Jersey, Ariana Blake, Josalynn Maree, Nayarith Lopez, Vanessa Pizutelli

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Maternal mortality rates have skyrocketed across the nation. New Jersey specifically has one of the highest rates across all 50 states. According to the New Jersey Maternal Health Report, southern New Jersey has the highest maternal mortality ratio, with 91% of the maternal deaths throughout New Jersey between 2016-2018 being preventable. It is crucial that families are receiving support during pregnancy and postpartum from the health care system and their community in order to reduce this trend. Acenda Integrated Health’s Connecting NJ aims to provide community support by connecting expectant mothers and families with children under the age of 3 …

Perinatal Experiences Of People With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Preliminary Scoping Review, Tanvi Shah, Andrea Iannuzzelli, Venkateswar Venkataman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that is diagnosed in early childhood, typically in people who are assigned male at birth. However, this diagnosis and the sensory and behavioral divergence that comes with ASD stay with people throughout their lives. Based on the DSM-V diagnostic criteria and the history of how Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders were first identified, many people who do not identify as male and/or present atypically do not receive a formal diagnosis until later in life or self-diagnose. This in turn has led to a lack of research in both populations that do not …

Impact Of Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (Omt) On Morbidity In Pregnant Persons Aged 18-39, Jessica-Sophie Chang Horoschak

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States continue to rise.1 Pregnant persons are more vulnerable to stress and morbidities associated with the physiological changes of pregnancy. Low back pain and posterior pelvic pain are of high incidence experienced in pregnant persons.2 Prevention strategies are necessary to improve maternal health outcomes in the United States. Some studies have shown that Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) can be an effective treatment modality for pregnant patients experiencing somatic pain. These studies, however, are limited and of small sample size.

Purpose: To examine the current literature on the impact of OMT …

Gestational Diabetes Among The South Asian Diaspora In The United States Of America: A Scoping Review, Anudeep Deevi, Mariam Sharobeem, Gabrianna Andrews, Rahul Ubrani, Venkateswar Venkataraman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Aim: The scoping review was conducted to review the current knowledge base regarding gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among South Asians in the United States. In addition, the review was meant to identify any gaps in knowledge, specifically about the current care received by South Asians as well as the associated adverse health outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus was conducted. Key words ""gestational diabetes South Asians in the United States" were used as search terms. Search was restricted to U.S. articles published on or after 01/01/2013 with key words. Articles were screened by …

Barriers To Doula Use In New Jersey After 2021 Medicaid Coverage Expansion, June Solow, Aashna Reddy, Natali Sharma, Jonathan Lewis

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Doulas are trained non-clinical professionals that provide continuous support to a pregnant mother from the prenatal to postpartum period. Presence of a doula has been shown to benefit both mother and newborn health.

Purpose: To determine what prevents doula utilization in New Jersey.

Methods: A review of the current literature about doulas, mothers, clinicians, and legislation in other states was conducted. This included qualitative and quantitative data gathered in the United States.

Results: The most significant barrier from both the mother’s and doula’s perspectives is cost. Besides cost, diversity and number of doulas is low. A major barrier to …

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Postpartum Depression Rates In Nj, Kyra Herman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

• Postpartum Depression (PPD) is defined as depressive symptoms that last >2 weeks after delivery and that interfere with activities of daily living
• Pre-Covid: 13% of women nationwide experienced postpartum depressive symptoms with an estimated 50% of these women not being treated
• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is the standard survey administered in postpartum period.
• Retrospective chart review of 186 patients
• The pre-Covid timeframe was defined as July 2019 to January 2020 and the intra-Covid timeframe was defined as July 2020 to January 2021.
• While it was hypothesized that the Covid-19 pandemic would cause the risk of PPD to increase, as …

Opioid Usage In Pregnant Women, Sheron Mehak, Karen Krieg

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Women have a heightened sense of health during pregnancy, especially first pregnancies. They often pay closer attention to taking medications (both over the counter and prescribed). Some discontinue smoking and choose healthier diet choices. The question or hypothesis of this research is to examine if this heightened sense of health during pregnancy has any effect on the choice to use recreational drugs during pregnancy.

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Safe Sleep Among Preconception Adolescents​, Keita Oumou, Krystal Hunter, Erica Levin, Lori Feldman-Winter

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Introduction–To protect against SUID/SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released recommendations on creating a safe sleep environment. Studies about teen parents indicate gaps in knowledge regarding infant safe sleep practices, however there are no published studies about adolescents who are preconception. The objective of this stud is to investigate adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding infant safe sleep practices prior to conceiving.

Methods–This was a cross-sectional study of adolescents aged 14-22 years recruited from two outpatient primary care pediatric sites in Southern NJ. Following consent, participants completed a 27-question survey about infant safe sleep practices. For analysis, …

The Prevalence Of Postpartum Depression In Black And Hispanic Women In New Jersey, Courtney Chineme, Rachel Shmuts, Chris Canlas

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Postpartum depression (PPD) is defined as symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) within one month of giving birth with the prevalence in the United States being 10-15%. There are well documented instances of racial differences and their effects on maternal outcomes including infant, maternal mortality and postpartum mood disorders. In New Jersey, there are monitoring systems that explore the relationships between maternal characteristics such as race, age, education level, insurance status, and racial bias and how they may correlate with higher incidences of Postpartum Depression (PPD) in these communities of women. The purpose of this comparative study is to analyze …

The Role Of Primary Care Physicians In Post-Partum Depression (Ppd), Elizabeth Bowman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background

• Symptoms of depression lasting longer than 2 weeks following birth
• 10-15% of new mothers affected yet 50% of cases go undiagnosed
• Long-lasting consequences for the mother, baby, and father
• Multi-factorial condition

Conclusion

• Primary care providers are the first-line defense against PPD
• Many providers are resistant to PPD screenings
• Interventions from primary care providers are effective

The Impact Of Exercise On Pregnant Women Aged 18-40 And Fetal Development, Jinisha Patwa

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

68% of those who performed minimum level exercise prior to pregnancy stopped completely during early pregnancy.

Women stop exercising during pregnancy due to worries about the impact it may have on the development of the fetus.

Starting moderate-intensity, weight-bearing exercise early in pregnancy increases placental growth rate and volume.

Exercise reduces the risks of excess gestational weight gain and high maternal body weight before pregnancy.

Physical exercise reduces the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Breastfeeding Education Support Tool For Baby (Best4baby): Feasibility, Acceptability, And Preliminary Impact Of An Mhealth Supported Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Intervention In Rural India, Parth D. Lalakia, Vanessa L. Short, Roopa M. Bellad, Patricia J. Kelly, Yukiko Washio, Tony Ma, Katie Chang, Niranjana Majantashetti, Umesh S. Charantimath, Frances J. Jaeger, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Richard J. Derman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of an mHealth-supported breastfeeding peer counselor intervention implemented in rural India and the preliminary impact of the intervention on maternal breastfeeding behaviors, including exclusive breastfeeding (EBF).

Methods: In this quasi-experimental pilot study, participants received either the intervention plus usual care (n = 110) or usual care alone (n = 112). The intervention group received nine in-home visits during and after pregnancy from peer counselors who provided education about and support for EBF and other optimal infant feeding practices and were aided with an mHealth tool. The control group received routine prenatal and postnatal health education. …

Ethnic Differences In Maternal Cytokines And Adipokines And Their Association With Spontaneous Preterm Delivery, Yelizavet D. Lomakova, Xinhua Chen

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Spontaneous preterm delivery (SPTD, birth at <37 weeks’ gestation) is a leading cause of infant mortality in the United States [1]. Infants born prematurely are more likely to suffer from both short and long-term complications including neurodevelopmental delay, visual and hearing impairment, and chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes in later life [2-4]. African American women have a 2-fold increased risk of preterm delivery compared to Caucasian women [5].The reasons for this disparity are poorly understood. This limits the ability to predict and prevent preterm delivery in the most high-risk populations.

The Effects Of Antenatal Betamethasone On Late Preterm Infants, Jennifer Hummel, Abigail Prest, Xinhua Chen

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Administration of steroids to mothers expected to deliver in the late preterm period has previously been found to decrease neonatal respiratory morbidity. In this retrospective chart review, there were no significant differences between groups in the primary outcome of required respiratory support for the neonate, incidence of periventricular hemorrhage or neonatal death. However, this study found that their rate of hyperbilirubinemia, need for phototherapy, and NICU stays were longer than their counterparts whose mothers did not receive steroids or who only received one dose.These findings may provide support for future protocols directed to improve neonatal morbidity secondary to jaundice.