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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health and prenatal care

Maternal Mortality in Indiana (2022): Contributing Factors and Policy Recommendations
Discusses causes of maternal mortality and related data in Indiana and the U.S. at large. Includes information on disparities with a focus on rural areas, race/ethnicity, and access to maternal health services. Provides county-level map of Indiana showing ratio of county population to obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYN) specialists.
Author(s): Nidhi Arun, Vatsla Sharma, Elizabeth Thuranira
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indiana University Public Policy Institute
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"It Was Just Really Hard to Be Pregnant in a Smaller Town …": Pregnant and Parenting Teenagers' Perspectives of Social Support in Their Rural Communities
Examines the levels of support available for pregnant and parenting teenagers in rural communities. Provides information from 26 interviews with current and former pregnant/parenting teenagers who report on the availability of emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal social supports.
Author(s): Lauren Baney, Alison Greene, Catherine Sherwood-Laughlin, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(24), 16906
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
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A Comparison of Evidence-Based Supports for Maternal and Infant Health in 133 Rural US Counties with and without Hospital-Based Obstetric Care
An infographic that provides information on available maternal and infant supports in rural areas. Includes data from 133 surveyed hospital administrators regarding access to breastfeeding groups, doula care, childbirth education classes, and more.
Author(s): Phoebe L. Chastain, Mariana S. Tuttle, Alyssa H. Fritz, Bridget Basile Ibrahim, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Mental Health Disorders Among Delivery Inpatient Stays by Patient Race and Ethnicity, 2020
Reports on the number and rate of delivery stays with a mental health disorder diagnosis by patient race and ethnicity for Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, White, and Hispanic populations. Includes data by location of patient residence for large metropolitan, small metro, and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Audrey J. Weiss, Michael A. Head, Lawrence D. Reid
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Doula Care and Maternal Health: An Evidence Review
Examines the role of doula care in maternal health as well as impacts, challenges, access, disparities, reimbursement, and policy efforts related to maternity/doula care. Includes a county-level U.S. map of maternity care deserts and discussion of rural-specific maternity programs.
Author(s): Kathleen Knocke, Andre Chappel, Sarah Sugar, Nancy De Lew, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Report of the (Pennsylvania) Opioid Abuse Child Impact Task Force: Act 2 of 2022
Identifies strategies to mitigate the suffering of Pennsylvania infants and children affected by the opioid epidemic and alcohol abuse. Offers 13 actionable recommendations for consideration by the General Assembly and governor. Mentions rural throughout, and includes county-level maps showing higher rates of opioid use disorder and its consequences in Pennsylvania rural counties.
Author(s): Glenn J. Pasewicz, Allison N. Kobzowicz, Daniel Nguyen, et al.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Maternal Telehealth: Innovations and Hawaiʻi Perspectives
Examines access to maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) subspecialty services via telemedicine in high-risk patients in remote Hawai'i. Includes a literature review on telehealth MFM, discusses efficacy of currently available telemedicine technologies, and covers obstetric outcomes and barriers of telehealth MFM.
Author(s): Cathlyn Sullivan, Marguerite Cazin, Christina Higa, Ivica Zalud, Men-Jean Lee
Citation: Journal of Perinatal Medicine, 51(1), 69-82
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
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Remotely Sensed Measures of Hurricane Michael Damage and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes and Access to Prenatal Care Services in the Florida Panhandle
Examines the damage caused by Hurricane Michael in 2018 on residential buildings in the predominantly rural Florida panhandle and the relationship to adverse perinatal outcomes and access to prenatal care (PNC) services in this population. Compares aerial photography of building damage to 8,965 women's geocoded addresses, utilizing data from the Florida Department of Health's Office of Vital Statistics. Includes demographic information of women giving birth in high risk/damaged areas and the related associations to perinatal outcomes and access to PNC services.
Author(s): Ke Pan, Elaina Gonsoroski, Christopher K. Uejio, et al.
Citation: Environmental Health, 21, 118
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
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Advancing Rural Health Equity: Fiscal Year 2022 Year in Review
Summarizes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) activities in fiscal year 2022 to advance health equity for people living in rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities. Covers 10 priority focus areas: Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, Marketplace, the rural health workforce, payment and delivery system models and demonstrations, long-term services and supports, maternal health, mental health and substance use disorders, quality, and COVID-19.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them
Issue brief examining racial disparities in access to maternal and infant healthcare, noting disparities in rural communities. Presents data from various sources on birth risks and outcomes, infant mortality, teen pregnancy, and other maternal health topics by race/ethnicity, including American Indian and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations.
Author(s): Latoya Hill, Samantha Artiga, Usha Ranji
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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