Along with the late 1980s Medicaid expansion for pregnant women and children, states implemented multiple reforms to reduce administrative burdens and facilitate access to Medicaid and prenatal care. We use National Vital Statistics birth data from 1985 to 1994 and a difference-in-discontinuities approach to compare the effectiveness of these…

In 2004, the government of Punjab, Pakistan introduced a conditional cash assistance program for girls attending secondary schools. We exploit variations in exposure to the program across cohorts and regions to estimate the long run effects of the program on women's marriage and fertility decisions, maternal healthcare utilization and the health…

Since 1997, the Brazelton Centre UK has offered courses to a wide range of professionals working with newborn infants and their families. In 2009, the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale was recommended in the Healthy Child Programme by the Department of Health. Both the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale and the Newborn Behavioral Observations…

Mounting evidence across different disciplines suggests that early-life conditions can have consequences on individual outcomes throughout the life cycle. Relative to other developed countries, the United States fares poorly on standard indicators of early-life health, and this disadvantage may have profound consequences not only for population…

Like all states, Nebraska faces distinct challenges in how it allocates resources to meet the most immediate needs of its citizens while investing responsibly in long-term social and economic growth. This report presents selected indicators that describe the status of infants and toddlers in Nebraska; Often comparable data for the U.S. as a whole…

In 2002, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Children's Futures, a multiyear community-change initiative to improve the well-being of children in Trenton, New Jersey, through a broad range of activities and services, from parenting programs to efforts to improve health and childcare. This report examines programmatic achievements and…

Based on the assumption that all American children deserve an opportunity to be born healthy and to grow up healthy, this guide presents the recommendations approved by the majority of the National Commission on Children for improving the health of the nation's pregnant women and children. The Commission's five recommendations are: (1) provide…

This report presents findings of a study tour organized by the French-American Foundation, for 13 United States' health care professionals to examine and interpret the nearly 50-year-old French maternal and child health care system, Protection maternelle et infantile (PMI). Chapter 1 describes the operation of PMI and the possibility of similar…

About 36,500 infants die each year in the United States, due largely to low birth weight and inadequate prenatal care. The United States ranks twenty-second among the world's nations in infant mortality. This brochure addresses the high infant mortality rate in the United States compared to other developed nations, and notes actions that…

This report describes the relationship between comprehensive prenatal care services and healthy babies, and examines the inclusion of social support services with medical care for women at-risk of problem pregnancies and unhealthy babies. The report notes that the United States trails many countries in indicators of maternal and child health. In…

Describes an underserved rural community in which health care initiatives increased access to comprehensive care. Over a 3-year period, increased accessibility to maternal and child health care also increased use of preventive services, thus decreasing emergency room visits and hospitalizations as well as low birth weight, risk of congenital…

These hearings transcripts present testimony before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources to address the question of how to improve the health care status of American children. The hearings addressed a range of issues relating to children's health from witnesses with expertise in pediatric care, public health, mental health, and…

Rural Health Outreach is a federal program of demonstration grants designed to encourage organizations to cooperate in delivering health care services to rural Americans. Thirteen programs utilizing innovative collaborations between state agencies, schools, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, volunteers, and the private sector are described a year…

This teacher's instructional guide, which is part of a family and consumer sciences education series focusing on a broad range of employment opportunities, is intended to assist teachers responsible for teaching one- and two-year child development programs for Texas high school students. The following are among the items included: (1) introductory…