Stress to Success: Prenatal Strategies to Improve Child Outcomes
OVERVIEW
Organizers | Iowa ACEs 360 + ISU Extension & Outreach
Subjects Covered | Nutrition
Target Audience | Professionals working in human services, including government and nonprofit, community and faith leaders, elected officials
SUMMARY
A pregnant mother’s ability to access healthy food is critical to her child’s lifelong well-being. This presentation will educate attendees on challenges Iowa mothers are experiencing and how to improve health outcomes by focusing on the prenatal period, with examples of successful strategies and actions attendees can implement.
ACTION ITEMS
Attendees will be encouraged to brainstorm strategies they can implement in their work and communities. In addition, we’ll offer these action steps:
- Join Iowa ACEs 360 to receive ongoing opportunities to learn and collaborate on prenatal strategies.
- Implement a Community Baby Shower with an action-planning guide.
- Read a new report on Adverse Childhood Experiences in Iowa and identify messages to share with your elected officials to shape policy decisions that increase support for families in the prenatal period.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Iowa ACEs 360 I @IowaACEs360
Working to improve the health and well-being of all by empowering communities, organizations, and people to take informed actions to prevent and mitigate the lifelong effects of childhood adversity.
ISU Extension & Outreach
VISION ISU Extension and Outreach will advance land-grant values by engaging all Iowans in solving today’s problems and preparing for a thriving future.
MISSION ISU Extension and Outreach builds a strong Iowa by engaging all Iowans in research, education, and extension experiences to address current and emerging real-life challenges.
CORE VALUES The Extension Professional’s Creed embodies ISU Extension and Outreach’s core values for building a strong Iowa in partnership with all Iowans.
Sarah Welch
Network Outreach & Communications Contractor, Iowa ACEs 360
Sarah focuses on using communications strategies to create system and social change. With 15+ years of experience in areas including nonprofit communications, journalism, and higher education, she brings knowledge of how to lead diverse stakeholders toward shared goals and strategies, develop frames for messaging to gain broader support, create and implement communications and action plans, and write engaging content.
As a Network Outreach and Communications Contractor with Iowa ACEs 360, she leads efforts to communicate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on Iowans’ health and well-being and the importance of reshaping systems and communities to promote healing and build protective factors with families. She has worked closely with researchers to understand the critical opportunities we have to prevent ACEs starting in the prenatal period by helping moms with signs of stress connect to resources, including healthy food.
Cassie Odland
Family Life and Nutrition Educator, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Cassie works for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Polk County as a Family Life and Nutrition Educator. She has been serving families in the community with ISU Extension and Outreach for 4.5 years. Cassie graduated from Iowa State University with bachelor’s degrees in Nutrition and Wellness and Human Development and Family Studies.
Cassie facilitates a wide range of programs that include teaching youth nutrition education in schools grades k-5, pre-natal nutrition for expecting mothers, Strengthening Families series for parents and youth ages 10-14, literacy programs for parents and children, and a higher education family program in the Latinx community. Her favorite part of the job is that everyday is different and she gets to work with a wide variety of individuals.