D

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WATCH BWCH

Fall 2008
11/2008

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Window Cord Safety

2

Let’s Talk!

3

National Campaign

3

First Time
Motherhood

4

Project Launch

4

Prematurity

5

My Pyramid

6

Special points of
interest:
• Increase awareness of
domestic violence – pg. 1
• Children and window cords
don’t mix! - pg. 2
• Talking sex with our kids
- pg. 3
• Project Launch Grant -pg.4
• Prematurity - pg. 5
• Healthy eating for
Preschoolers - pg. 6

Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) is
observed each October.
DVAM evolved from the
first Day of Unity begun by
the National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence
(NCADV) in 1981 . The
intent of DVAM and the
Day of Unity is to connect
advocates and others involved in the battered
women’s movement who
are working to end violence against women and
their children.
The Day of Unity is celebrated the first Monday in
October and has become
a special week when a
range of activities are conducted at the local, state,
and national levels. This
year the Day of Unity was
celebrated on Monday,
October 6, 2008.

The first Domestic Violence
Awareness Month was observed in October 1987.
The first national toll-free
hotline was begun the
same year. The first Domestic Violence Awareness Month Commemorative Legislation was passed
by the U.S. Congress two
years later in 1989 and has
passed every year since.
The NCADV continues to
provide key leadership in
this effort.
The increased awareness
of domestic violence in the
upcoming weeks may result in co-workers realizing
one of their peers is involved in a violent relationship.

What to do?
1. Be aware of signs of
bruises or injuries to
face, arms, etc. Wait
for your co-worker to
self disclose.
2. Be available only if you
are able. Be supportive and listen, but do
not offer advice. Express your concern for
her/his safety, encourage her/him to seek
help and give her/him
the 24-hour national
crisis line phone number (800-799-7233 or
800-799-SAFE).
3. Seek out information
about domestic violence to have a greater
understanding of what
your co-worker is experiencing. (Continued
pg.2 )

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancies Grant
The Bureau of Women’s
and Children’s Health recently received a two year grant from the National Campaign to Reduce Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies.
The grant will allow the
Bureau to conduct a plan-

ning process to identify
strategies to assist in the
reduction of unplanned
pregnancies of unmarried
male and female residents
of Arizona, age 18-24, with
an emphasis on Hispanic
and Native American populations. Although unin-

tended pregnancy occurs
in women of all backgrounds, according to the
Guttmacher Institute, the
levels are highest among
several groups, including
members of racial and
ethnic minority groups,
(Continues pg. 3)

Page 2

FALL 2008

Domestic Violence Awareness Month
(Continued from Page 1)

Give information about domestic violence and resources
available to victims to her/him if
your coworker asks for and accepts the information. She/he
may not be able to do so at this
time.
4. Be sensitive to the seriousness of the situation.
5. If you fear for your own
safety, address your concerns with your supervisor.
6. Maintain confidentiality at all
times. Discussing the issue
with others may increase
your co-worker’s risk of violence in their relationship.

7. Suggesting someone leaves
their relationship, or asking
why they remain with a violence partner is never helpful to a victim! There are a
myriad of reasons a victim
remains in their relationship.
Only the person in the relationship knows if they can
leave and when it is safe to
do so. Remember – 75% of
victims killed in a violent
relationship had already left!
8. If a violent incident occurs
while at work or in the workplace, inform your supervisor immediately.

able contact the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence
(602) 279-2900,
www.azcadv.org the National
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, (303)-839-1852,
www.ncadv.org the National
Domestic Violence Hotline: 1800-799-SAFE (7233).
For more information contact:
JAnn Pope, Domestic Violence
Services Program Manger with
the Rural Domestic Violence
Services Network at (602) 5427341 or jann.pope@azdhs.gov.

For more information on domestic violence and resources avail-

Window Cord Safety
accidentally become tangled or
caught in window cords.

Children and
Window Cords
Don’t Mix

When window cords are within
reach, it can take only a few seconds for a young child to accidentally strangle. Infants placed
in cribs near windows may be
able to grasp a dangling window
covering pull cord or inner lift
cord, pull it into the crib and unintentionally wrap it around their
neck. Only use cordless products in young children’s bedrooms and sleeping areas.
Toddlers and pre-schoolers
playing on beds or climbing on
furniture placed near windows

According to information provided by the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission,
since 1990, more than 200 infants and young children have
died from accidentally strangling
in window cords. Don’t let this
happen to your child.

REPLACE PRE-2001 WINDOW
CONVERINGS
The Window Covering Safety
Council (WCSC) recommends
parents and caregivers make the
right choice and only use cordless window products in young
children’s bedrooms and sleeping areas and to replace all window coverings in the home
made before 2001 with today’s
safer products.

If consumers do not wish to replace window coverings with
today’s safer products, the
WCSC offers free cord retrofit
kits.
For free retrofit kits and information contact
www.windowcoverings.org or
phone 1-800-506-4636.

s
’
t
e
L
!
k
l
a
T

they talk about sex.
Even though sex and body
changes can be difficult subjects
to bring up, it is essential that
children get information from
their parents about both topics.
Children and adolescents have
lots of questions about their bodies and sex. Studies have
shown that children want their
parents to be the ones to answer
their questions. Here are some
tips from Advocates for Youth on
talking to your children about
sexuality:

• Listen more than talk.
In case you missed it, October
was National Let’s Talk Month.
During October parents were
encouraged to talk to their children about sexuality. Parents
play a key roll in helping their
children learn about responsible
sexual behavior, but it can be
difficult for them to start up a
conversation about this sensitive
topic.
There are many possible reasons why some parents find it
difficult to talk to their kids about
sex. Some grew up in an environment where there were no
talks about sex. Some parents
are afraid they won’t have the
right answers to their children’s
questions. Still, others are afraid
their children will experiment if

3

FALL 2008

• Focus on behaviors, not persons.

• Negotiate and compromise,
or at least consider other
views.

• Encourage an open ex-

• Show agreement and support
often.

• Keep a sense of humor.
• Be clear about expectations
and listen, listen, listen!
For more information about Let’s
Talk Month or on talking to your
child about sex take a look at the
Advocates for Youth website
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/
and the National Campaign to
Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancies website, http://
www.thenationalcampaign.org/.
You can also talk to our very own
Cameron Lewis or Kirsten Hushagen, Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Program Managers. Bu calling
(602) 364-1400. Even if you
missed the National Let’s Talk
Month, it is always a good time to
start talking with your child. Start
now!

change of ideas.

• Foster the young person's
decision-making ability.

• Encourage and receive
questions.

• Admit ignorance when appropriate and find the answer.

• Share values and beliefs.
• Explore feelings.

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies
Grant (Continued from page 1)
women ages 18-24, and unmarried women. One reason we are
choosing to focus our efforts on
unmarried women is that data
shows seven of ten pregnancies
to unmarried women in their 20s
are unplanned. The goal is to
have a plan that encompasses a
variety of strategies that agencies and organizations through-

“data shows seven of ten
pregnancies to unmarried
women in their 20’s are
unplanned”
out the state can assist in implementing on a local level. In year
two of the contract, funding will be
made available to pilot and evalu-

ate one or two of the identified
strategies with the hope that the
successful strategies can be
replicated, not only in Arizona
but in other parts of the country.
If you are interested in being
part of the planning process,
please contact Dorothy Hastings
at (602) 364-1423.

WATCH BWCH

Page 4

FALL 2008

First Time Motherhood/New Parents Initiative
The Bureau of Women’s and
Children’s Health (BWCH) was
recently awarded the First Time
Motherhood/New Parents Initiative grant. This two-year grant is
administered by the Department
of Health and Human Services
Administration, Maternal and
Child Health Bureau and will
bring approximately $500,000 a
year to the state to increase
awareness about preconception/
interconception care, the life
course perspective, the availability of resources for expectant
parents/new parents and provide
linkages to those resources.
Arizona will use this funding to
to develop a social marketing

campaign designed to increase
awareness about the life course
perspective and the importance
of preconception/interconception
care in improving birth outcomes
among African American women
and men age 18 – 30 years of
age. Focus groups will be conducted as a formative strategy
for developing a social marketing campaign plan. In addition,
presentations will be created for
use by local agencies when conducting educational sessions in
African American churches in
Maricopa County, Tucson, Sierra Vista and Yuma. Barbers
and beauticians with a significant African American client
base will also be educated about

Project LAUNCH
The Bureau of Women's and
Children's Health was recently
awarded the Project LAUNCH
grant from the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Beginning in 2008, Arizona will receive
$900,946 each year for five
years. The goal of the grant is
to promote holistic wellness for
children from birth to eight (8)
years of age. Wellness encompasses the physical, emotional,
social and behavioral aspects of
a child's development. The goal
will be accomplished by providing funding at the local level to
implement evidence-based programs, promote protective factors, improve coordination
among child-serving systems,
build infrastructure and improve
methods of providing services.
This grant is a partnership between the Arizona Department
of Health Services (ADHS), the

Governor’s Office for
Children,
Youth and Families (GOCYF), First
Things First, and the University of
Arizona Cooperative Extension.
The Arizona grant is titled Project
Tapestry and will focus on the geographic areas of two (2) zip codes,
85040 and 85041. These zip
codes were selected because of
current service coordination efforts
initiated by the Arizona Department
of Corrections/Department of Economic Services Legacy Partnership to address the needs of exoffenders re-entering the community. Tapestry will assign a high
priority, working with Legacy, DES
and Maricopa County Probation to
target children who are related to
or living in a home with an exoffender. The Project will also
work with other children living in
the geographic areas who attend
or will attend the Roosevelt School
District as well as their families and

various preconception/new parent related health topics and
resources so they can share
information with their clients as
appropriate.
The materials developed for the
social marketing campaign also
will be used to educate men and
women who are members of
other racial/ethnic populations
based on the belief that the materials will have cross-cultural
appeal. The BWCH will work
with the ADHS Marketing Committee on integrating the social
marketing message into existing
social marketing
(Continued pg. 6 )

caregivers. The various components of Project Tapestry are designed to address various factors
that impact school readiness, academic achievement and social
responsibility. Project Tapestry
consists of five (5) evidencebased programs that are school
and community-based: The Incredible Years, Parents as Teachers, Strengthening Multi-Ethnic
Families and Communities, Parenting Wisely and Healthy Steps.
The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension will assume
responsibility for implementing
services at the local level. ADHS
and GOCYF (Continued pg. 6)

The goal of the grant
is to promote holistic
wellness for children
from birth to eight (8)
years of age.

Page 5

FALL 2008

November—Prematurity Awareness Month
November is National Prematurity Awareness Month.
According to the Arizona Health Status and Vital Statistics in 2007, 10.3% of all Arizona babies were born
at less than 37 weeks gestation. This is slightly lower
than the three previous years and lower than the national average. In 2007, there were 321 deaths due
to prematurity in Arizona.
Premature infants are born before their brain and
other organs are completely formed. The very premature infant is more likely to suffer from respiratory
distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage and
necrotizing enterocolitis. Even the late preterm infant
can face developmental delays, respiratory, vision,
hearing and gastrointestinal complications as well as
social-emotional delays.
The causes of prematurity vary and many times the
cause is unknown. Women who have had a preterm
birth are more likely to have another. The incidence
of prematurity across the races is disparate. The rate
of preterm birth in the United States is highest for
African American infants (18.1%), followed by Native
Americans (13.8%), Hispanics (12.0%), whites
(11.5%) and Asians (10.5%). African Americans in
Arizona experience a higher rate of prematurity at
14.9%. Fourteen percent of the deaths due to prematurity were associated with the health and wellbeing of the mother before she became pregnant or
during her pregnancy.
According to a report published by the Institute of
Medicine and partially funded by the March of Dimes,
the cost of preterm births in the United States is at
least $26.2 billion or $51,600 for every infant born
preterm in 2005. The costs broke down as follows:
$16.9 billion (65%) for medical care, $1.9 billion (7%)
for maternal delivery, $611 million (2%) for early intervention services, $1.1 billion (4%) for special education services and $5.7 billion (22%) for lost household and labor market productivity. The average firstyear medical costs, including both inpatient and outpatient care, were about 10 times greater for preterm
infants ($32,325) than for term infants ($3,325).
Strategies to prevent preterm deliveries and/or ameliorate the effects of prematurity include medical intervention, regionalized systems of care and education. Medical treatments are able to slow down labor
in some instances by treating contractions. This
gives time to administer steroids to the mother to
help the baby’s lungs mature. This also allows for
some time to transport the mother to a high-risk perinatal center. Studies have shown that infants born at
the appropriate level of perinatal care have better

overall outcomes. In Arizona in 2007, 2,015 critically ill pregnant women or women in preterm labor
were transported to a higher level of perinatal care.
The various Newborn Intensive Care Units in Arizona are positioned to care for premature infants
based on gestational age. The transport component of the High Risk Perinatal Program ensures
that premature and critically ill newborns receive
timely access to appropriate medical care without
regard to geographic location or ability to pay. In
2007, 1,143 infants were transported to the appropriate level of care.
Every Arizona Perinatal Trust Level II Enhanced
Qualification and Level III NICU has a NIDCAP®
certified Developmental Specialist who provides a
comprehensive approach to developmentally appropriate care, and guides the staff and the parents
in understanding the medically fragile premature
infant’s strengths and needs. NIDCAP® is the acronym for Newborn Individualized Developmental
Care and Assessment Program® developed by Dr.
Heidelise Als of Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston.
We are continuing to work diligently to better understand the causes of prematurity in order to focus our efforts on prevention. Based on the CDC’s
Perinatal Periods of Risk, we know that the health
of the mother before she becomes pregnant influences the birth outcome. The Bureau of Women’s
and Children’s Health has concentrated efforts on
preconception health or the health of a woman before she becomes pregnant throughout all the programs it manages by increasing public awareness
and by partnering with organizations like the March
of Dimes.
To learn more about prematurity go to the March of
Dimes web site
http://www.marchofdimes.com/arizona

Welcome New Employee
Alana Shacter, MPH
Injury Epidemiologist

Page 6

My Pyramid

FALL 2008

USDA launched MyPyramid for Preschoolers in October , 2008
at the American Dietetic Association's annual meeting in Chicago. MyPyramid for Preschoolers is for children 2 to 5 years
of age.

Project LAUNCH

Visit the web at http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/
index.html to access this newly added resource to USDA's
MyPyramid.gov.

will work collaboratively to facilitate linkages with other state and local agencies on
the promotion of effective policies that support young child wellness and create integrated systems of services.

Here are some sections of the MyPyramid for Preschoolers that
include tips for parents:
Explore ways to help your preschooler:
• Grow up healthy. Complete a growth chart especially for
your child to find out more about normal development.
• Develop healthy eating habits. Raise a healthy eater by
setting a good example and practicing positive habits.
• Try new foods. Help for picky eaters.
• Play actively every day. Add physical activity into your
preschooler’s day.

(Continued from page 4)

Within the first six months of the grant, several tasks must be completed at the state
and local levels: establishment of Council
on Young Child Wellness, completion of an
environmental scan, financial mapping of
funding sources that support child wellness,
development of a comprehensive plan and
local service implementation. The state
Council on Young Child Wellness will be
integrated into the Health Workgroup of the
First Things First Early Childhood Board.

• Follow food safety rules.
This website will be a great resource not only for parents and
grandparents, but also for anyone working with school children
such as staff in WIC, SNAP-Ed, Head Start and child care centers.

First time Motherhood/New Parents Initiative (Continued from page 4)
campaigns within the department.
Upon completion, the effectiveness
of the social marketing campaign
will be evaluated.
A portion of the funds will be used
to promote Baby Arizona, a presumptive eligibility prenatal care
program. The social marketing
campaign will also provide information on the steps a woman can take
to modify any preconception health
risks and the importance of being
healthy even if she does not plan
on becoming pregnant. In addition,
the 1-800 number for the Pregnancy and Breastfeeding hotline will
be promoted along with a list of local and national resources. Men
will be educated on their role in preconception care and improving birth
outcomes – completing a reproduc-

tive health plan, being screened for
infections, being informed about their
family health histories, being supportive of a woman’s efforts to improve
and sustain positive health behaviors
and ensuring his partner is not exposed to second hand smoke.
The grant will also fund grand rounds
at the six level III hospitals in Arizona
and a Preconception Care Summit in

This newsletter brought to you
by:
Arizona Department of Health
Services
Bureau of Women’s and
Children’s Health
150 N 18th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 364-1400