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Winner 2009 -
National Perinatal Assocations
Transcultural Care Award
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| To honor one individual or organization for its outstanding efforts to improve perinatal care through a transcultural initiative. |
The March of Dimes American Indian/Alaska Native Women's Committee (volunteers), supported by Janet Shephard.
Janet worked for more than a year to create
"The Coming of the Blessing®". This
comprehensive booklet has been tested in 14 states
for its ability to encourage American Indian and
Alaska Native women to include their traditional
beliefs, their ancestors and their partners in their
circle of support during pregnancy. This circle of
support can help them make healthy choices for
themselves and their babies. More than 7,000 booklets
were distributed to targeted native communities during
the pilot project.
Survey shows that women who received The Coming of the
Blessing® booklet during pregnancy, 90% believed
that the booklet was helpful to them. Mothers made
specific changes related to nutrition, stress
reduction and the decision to breast feed. Although
American Indian and Alaska Native mothers have the
highest rate of inadequate prenatal care (23.8%) of
all racial/ethnic groups, 88% of the moms who received
this health education tool kept all of their prenatal
appointments. To date, women from more than 30 tribes,
Nations and pueblos have benefited from The Coming of
the Blessing®.