This article addresses considerations around investing in early childhood efforts across the globe. The authors describe diverse early childhood approaches with a specific focus on strategies to fund and sustain this work. They also discuss the leadership efforts necessary to advocate for funding early childhood services and reflect on challenges…

This article defines the concept of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) and describes how it provides the foundation for lifelong health and well-being. The authors provide policy recommendations that include the need to: (a) establish cross-agency leadership for IECMH, (b) ensure Medicaid payment for IECMH services, (c) invest in…

There have been revolutionary advances in the last decade in researcher's understanding of the genesis of life course health from the critical formative experiences before birth. Even more striking are the factors in a mother's developmental and nutritional history and experience that shape her health, a healthy pregnancy and delivery, and the…

The issue of early childhood trauma is becoming more prominent in early childhood policy discussions, driven by a growing recognition of the potentially devastating impacts of trauma and violence on infants, toddlers, and families. This article provides facts about the impacts of trauma and other adverse early experiences on child health and…