The scale and reach of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant—with current appropriations of $712,700,000—is indisputable, as 93 percent of pregnant women, 98 percent of infants, and 60 percent of children are touched. While impressive progress has been made in important benchmarks, including the 25 percent decline in infant mortality since 1997, bereavement…
By Cynthia Prestidge Grief teaches a mother lessons she never wanted to learn My husband Brad came home to tell me what he had learned minutes earlier. Sarah is gone… Our Sarah-Grace. Our beautiful 24-year-old daughter. Dead. With three words and within mere seconds, I was shattered, gutted, disoriented. Any word that implies destruction,…
Forgotten by most of society, Maryam Henderson experienced two devastating events that ultimately changed her course: a 25-year prison sentence and the death of her son, Augustine. Maryam was serving her sentence at St. Gabriel’s Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women when she received the news that her oldest son had died in a motorcycle accident.…
Kevin, a fierce protector of his nine siblings and Nancy and Ray’s son. A Bereaved Mother’s Day Dr. Mom, otherwise known as Nancy, is an unflappable mother of ten and leads her large family with grace, instilling a deep love for life in all her children. As a psychotherapist who specializes in addiction and trauma, she…
How CuddleCot is changing the care system for stillbirth families The scene opens with a woman, curled up on a hospital bed. A doctor enters, rolling in a white bassinet. “This is called a CuddleCot,” he explains. “It’s a special bassinet that keeps stillborn babies cool so they can stay with their parents a little…
Two grieving mothers seek efforts to bring transparency, safety to college abroad programs Ros Thackurdeen remembers the hype as she sat through a college study abroad session with her youngest son Ravi at Swarthmore University. “It was pretty exciting,” Thackurdeen said. “I wanted to go on it. You had students who talked about their experiences…
Cynthia with Sarah-Grace. Grief teaches a mother lessons she never wanted to learn My husband Brad came home to tell me what he had learned minutes earlier. Sarah is gone… Our Sarah-Grace. Our beautiful 24-year-old daughter. Dead. With three words and within mere seconds, I was shattered, gutted, disoriented. Any word that implies destruction, pain…