Training and Advocacy

The Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Doctoral Training Program extends the training and support of the Tulane Center of Excellence in MCH to provide tuition support and a research and travel stipend to selected incoming doctoral students. Scholars are expected to engage in advanced training in Social Determinants of Health, Life Course Theory, and Implementation Science, also open to doctoral students throughout SPHTM. They are also expected to engage in a practice experience with the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Bureau of Family Health (including Title V Program) to build capacity to address the maternal and child health needs of Louisiana.

The Maternal and Child Health Coalition is a group of individuals and community organizations dedicated to advocating for improved health services for women and children in New Orleans. The coalition was formed in 2017 after publication of the MAC report on the Health of Women and Girls in Louisiana: Racial Disparities in Adverse Birth Outcomes. Due to the dire statistics concerning birth outcomes, particularly for women of color, in the New Orleans community, the coalition is requesting that the City Council and Mayor’s Office re-establish an office of maternal and child health within city government to monitor this crisis and implement interventions to improve how women give birth in this city. Contact us for more information or to join the coalition. 

Two out of every three women in Louisiana who are employed during their pregnancy do not have any paid leave after giving birth. A coalition of advocates, community members and organizational representatives are working to advance paid family leave legislation in Louisiana and nationwide in order to lessen financial stress, promote health and lower health care costs for women, children, and families.

MAC has a long history of advocacy in support of women who choose to breastfeed. We are currently partnering with the New Orleans Breastfeeding Center on a BUILD Health Challenge project that seeks to establish supportive environments for breastfeeding families of color and increase access to culturally-appropriate breastfeeding support services by training community members to become breastfeeding support professionals. Examples of past projects include:

• The Breastfeeding Welcome Here Project, an initiative conducted in partnership with the Louisiana Breastfeeding Coalition that aims to highlighting breastfeeding-friendly establishments for mothers and their families and to provide support (time and space) for the employees of those establishments.

• The Louisiana Workplace Breastfeeding Support Program, an advocacy campaign that informs employers in New Orleans about the federal law that supports breastfeeding employees, assists employers in complying with the law by providing them with information and tools to establish workplace lactation programs, and designating businesses as Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplaces and Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace Champions.

• The Tulane Breastfeeding Program, a campus-wide initiative to protect, promote and support students, staff, and faculty mothers who breastfeed.