MCH policy review terms

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

This landmark law expanded Medicaid eligibility and required maternity care as an essential health benefit.

Title V of the Social Security Act

This established funds to support maternal and child health services. This block grant supports maternal and child health services in all 50 states and territories and requires that states conduct needs assessments every 5 years.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

This act provides eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act

Signed into law in 2022, this act provides the right to break time and space to pump breast milk at work to millions more workers, including teachers and nurses. It also clarifies that pumping time must be paid if an employee is not completely relieved from duty.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

This act ensures the right to free, appropriate public education for all children. It was expanded in the 1980s to include children ages 0-3. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are established under IDEA for children who meet disability criteria.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Under this act, Section 504 plans are established for children with a diagnosis that significantly limits daily activity, providing accommodations in the educational environment.

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

This law provides additional oversight and prioritizes placement with tribal members for indigenous children who are involved with child welfare.

Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)

This was enacted in 1997.

Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)

This was enacted in 2018.

Medicaid

This is the largest source of health coverage for low-income pregnant women and children. It is a formula grant program. Expansion of Medicaid allowed states to extend postpartum coverage from 6 weeks to 12 months.

CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)

This program is jointly funded by federal and state governments.

WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)

This categorical grant program provides nutrition assistance to low-income pregnant women, postpartum women, and young children. Key services include supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health care referrals. Eligibility includes being a pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding woman, an infant up to one year old, or a child up to five years old, with a family income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level and nutritional risk.

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

This formula grant program provides supplemental nutritious food, nutrition education, and employment training to people with income below 130% FPL.

Head Start

This program provides early care, education, and home visiting services to high-risk children. It is a categorical grant program.

Early Head Start

This program serves children from birth to 3 years and is for families who meet income eligibility requirements, children in foster care, children experiencing homelessness, and children with developmental delays.

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program

This program supports voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to at-risk families. It is reauthorized and provides services for expectant and new parents with children up to kindergarten entry age.

Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)

This program recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. It requires facilities to implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. It was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

World Health Organization (WHO)

This organization was involved in launching the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Its definition of child health includes physical, mental, intellectual, social, and emotional well-being.

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)

This organization became a permanent part of the UN in 1953 and was involved in establishing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. UNICEF believes children need strong, resilient, and inclusive health systems to survive and thrive.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

This organization supports breastfeeding and compiles data on breastfeeding through the Breastfeeding Report Card and mPINC (Maternity Practice in Infant Nutrition & Care). It also provides information on injury, defining unintentional and intentional injury.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

This agency funds the Healthy Start Initiative through project grants.

Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)

This bureau oversees Title V.

Baby Friendly USA

This organization administers the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the United States.

Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI)

Its mission is to deliver sound, evidence-based, equitable, and inclusive lactation support locally and globally through education, training, and action-oriented research. Catherine Sullivan is the Director and Assistant Professor at CGBI.

Facilitators to Successful Breastfeeding/Lactation

Supportive healthcare setting, maternal confidence, patient and family intention, positive attitudes, beliefs, feelings, breastfeeding/health knowledge, having prenatal care, birthing/breastfeeding classes, social support: mother-to-mother support.

Social Determinants of Health

These are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

Structural Determinants of Health

These are the political, economic, and social contexts that shape the social determinants of health. They include values, beliefs, worldviews, cultural norms, and institutional practices.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

These are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples include abuse, neglect, and household challenges. At the population level, ACE scores are predictive of health outcomes.

Medical Home

This is a model where patients receive care that is accessible, family-centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally appropriate. It aims to be a usual place for sick/well care with a personal doctor or nurse, ability to obtain referrals, access to care coordination, family-centered care, and transition to adult life.

Value-Based Care

This care reimbursement model promotes quality over quantity of services delivered. Providers are reimbursed based on patient outcomes.

Herd Immunity

This occurs when a high percentage of the community is immune to a disease, making the spread of this disease from person to person unlikely, thus offering some protection to unvaccinated individuals.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

This is an international agreement to protect children’s rights, established in 1989. The United States has signed but not ratified this convention.

Block Grant

This provides federal funding to state or local governments for broad purposes and allows recipients significant flexibility in how the funds are used. Title V is an example.

Categorical Grant

This provides funds by the federal government to state or local governments for a specific purpose, with strict guidelines on how the money can be spent. WIC and Head Start are examples.

Formula Grant

This is a non-competitive grant distributed based on a predetermined formula, often considering factors like population size or poverty rates. Medicaid and SNAP are examples.

Project Grant

This is a competitive funding opportunity awarded for specific projects or programs based on merit. The Healthy Start Initiative is an example.

Flashcard 1
Front: Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)
Back: Recognizes hospitals for optimal infant feeding and mother-baby bonding. Requires Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the International Code. Supports safe infant feeding. Associated with improved breastfeeding rates. Administered by Baby Friendly USA.

Flashcard 2
Front: Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
Back: Practices required by Baby-Friendly facilities, based on WHO/UNICEF recommendations.

Flashcard 3
Front: Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding (SGCtA)
Back: Aims to make breastfeeding possible for all mothers who wish to. Frames breastfeeding as the NORMAL way to feed baby.

Flashcard 4
Front: Paid Family Leave (PFL)
Back: U.S. lacks national policy. FMLA is unpaid, job-protected leave. PFL benefits include decreased infant mortality and increased breastfeeding.

Flashcard 5
Front: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Back: Provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees.

Flashcard 6
Front: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Back: Tax credit with eligibility requirements. Linked to improvements in low birthweight, preterm birth, and children’s school performance.

Flashcard 7
Front: Child Tax Credit (CTC)
Back: Tax break for families with children, with eligibility requirements. May reduce parental anxiety, depression, and child poverty.

Flashcard 8
Front: Head Start and Early Head Start
Back: Provides early care, education, and home visiting to high-risk children meeting eligibility criteria. Early Head Start (birth-3), Head Start (3-5).

Flashcard 9
Front: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Back: Ensures free, appropriate public education for all children with disabilities, including IEPs.

Flashcard 10
Front: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Back: Requires accommodations for students with disabilities in federally funded programs.

Flashcard 11
Front: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Back: Potentially traumatic childhood events (0-17 years). ACE scores predict population-level health outcomes.

Flashcard 12
Front: Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
Back: Conditions in environments affecting health outcomes and risks.

Flashcard 13
Front: Medical Home
Back: Care that is accessible, family-centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally appropriate.

Flashcard 14
Front: Value-Based Care
Back: Reimbursement model that prioritizes quality over quantity of services based on patient outcomes.

Flashcard 15
Front: Herd Immunity
Back: Protection when a high percentage of the community is immune, preventing disease spread to vulnerable individuals.

Flashcard 16
Front: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
Back: International agreement to protect children’s rights. US signed but not ratified.

Flashcard 17
Front: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study
Back: Tracks global health concerns and provides population-level estimates for diseases and injuries.

Flashcard 18
Front: School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs)
Back: Provide healthcare services in schools, addressing medical, mental health, dental, vision needs, and SDOH.

Flashcard 19
Front: Title V National Performance Measures (NPMs)
Back: Accountability metrics for Title V MCH services. Example: Breastfeeding (NPM 4).

Flashcard 20
Front: Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)
Back: Administers the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program.

Flashcard 21
Front: Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI)
Back: Mission: equitable lactation support through education, training, and research.

Flashcard 22
Front: Ready, Set, BABY! Prenatal Education Curriculum
Back: A prenatal education resource.

Flashcard 23
Front: The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act
Back: Expands workplace protections for breastfeeding mothers; paid pumping time if not fully relieved from duty.

Flashcard 24
Front: Baby-Friendly USA
Back: Administers the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the US.