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LA Best Babies Network now on facebook and flickr
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SPA
2- Healthy Births Learning Collaborative Workshop: Let's Get Dads Involved! Making Your Program Father-Friendly
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On
September 30 the San Fernando Valley (SPA 2) Healthy Births Learning
Collaborative hosted the workshop, "Let's Get Dads Involved! Making Your Program Father-Friendly" at the Valley Presbyterian Hospital Education center.
With over 120 attendees, the free workshop filled up weeks in advance,
demonstrating the powerful interest in this subject. LA Best Babies Network assisted with logistics and planning
for the event.
Men
and women came to hear speakers Deborah Brownstone, Director of Project SAFE,
and Dr. Eugene Parker, founder of Operation Life Corporation, and to listen
and ask questions of the panel, which was moderated by Dr. Michael Olenick,
C.E.O. of the Child Care Resource Center, and included Dr. Parker, as well as C.
McKinley Kemp, Program Director of the Black Infant Health Program, Luis
Hidalgo and Joe Vega-Smith of the Head Start Child Care Resource Center, Danny
Molina, of Friends of the Family, and Brian Joseph, Director, Program Development Center for Nonviolent Education & Parenting.
Attendees
were appreciative of the both the broader concepts of how to be
father-friendly, and the specifics; for example, always serve food if you
want to attract more men to a meeting. Dr. Parker urged program directors to heed male sensibilities, for instance by substituting the word
"assessment" (with its judgmental connotations) with the word "intake." He encouraged the largely female audience to help fathers feel
important in their children's lives, and competent to contribute to family programs. Activities like
sports, barbeques, and picnics are the types of activities that often draw male
participants.
Audience
members wanted to know what got panel members committed to their programs and how
to keep men coming back. The panelists all pointed to the intangible rewards
gained from their work, and how much they had been able to learn personally
about being good husbands and fathers.
Because family programs are often run by and staffed by women, they tend to be woman
and mother-friendly by default, though there is no conscious effort to be
exclusive. In fact, the overwhelming interest in this workshop proves the
opposite. Programs welcome increased male participation and will work hard to encourage it, because of the indisputable importance of fathers, of men, in children's
lives and in programs that help children and families. Fathers benefit and programs benefit.
Find more photos from the event here
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H1N1 flu vaccine now available: what pregnant and parenting women
need to know
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The
H1N1 (Swine flu) vaccine is now available in Los Angeles County. The Department of Public Health will offer free H1N1 vaccinations, beginning October 23, for those in the established priority groups with no other source of care. Please see Vaccination Clinic Schedule for October 23 through November 8, 2009, for locations. Please check the LA County Department of Public Health Web site for updates, as the clinic schedules can change.
Pregnant women are the number one Priority Group (the shot may also protect the unborn child), followed by people caring for infants under six months of age, who cannot be vaccinated. The shot is also safe for breastfeeding mothers. Pregnant women have been shown to be at higher
risk than the general population for serious complications, and even death,
from the virus.
In
recent weeks there has been some misinformation circulating around the H1N1
vaccine. The CDC has a web page addressing some of these myths. The
vaccine is safe for pregnant women. Doctors and scientists believe the risk of
the flu, especially for pregnant women, children, and people with some underlying
health conditions, is higher than any risk that might come from the H1N1
vaccine. The vaccine is made with inactivated viruses, contains no adjuvants
(preservatives) and has been tested more rigorously than most seasonal flu
vaccines. H1N1 flu continues to be widespread in California and Los Angeles, with outbreaks
reported at several local schools. Vaccination is the best protection
against contracting the flu.
Pregnant
women should not receive the flumist nasal spray, as it contains live virus. Children under 10 will require 2
shots, 4 weeks apart. All others require only one. Vaccination is voluntary.
Some
large health insurance carriers have also agreed to waive any fees associated
with the vaccination. Others may charge a fee to cover the costs for the nurse
to administer the vaccine.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
CDC Information for Pregnant Women
LA County Department of Public Health
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