With the new school year and flu season soon to arrive, caregivers are looking for ways to support their children for positive immunization experiences. As child life specialists, it is our job to help children and families cope with scary, painful and potentially traumatic experiences—especially at the hospital or clinic.
There are many ways that families can partner with the medical team to assist with anxiety about pokes. (more…)
In the late 60’s, Dr. Donald Freeman, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at then Minneapolis General Hospital, and a nurse named Margaret Hewitt conducted forums asking women what they wanted their birth experience to look like.
In 1971, Margaret used what she learned at these forums and her knowledge as a Certified Nurse Midwife to develop the first hospital nurse midwife practice in Minnesota at HCMC. This new and innovative model directly involved women in decisions about their care and birth experience and was remarkably successful.
Now 50 years later and 14 midwives strong, our Hennepin Healthcare nurse midwives continue to nurture the philosophy of care that Margaret instilled, ensuring all expectant mothers have the right to care that meets their spiritual and cultural beliefs, values and traditions. Join us in celebrating 50 years of caring for women and welcoming babies on Saturday, September 25 from 1-4 pm in the Blue Building Courtyard. There you can connect with our team and enjoy photos and memorabilia from the past five decades.
Read on to learn more about the history of our Nurse Midwife Service and the important milestones we’ve made along the way. (more…)
Fatherhood looks different to every dad. That’s why we’re taking an in-depth look at fatherhood with key experts, regular parents, and everyone in between in this mini-series, “The Fatherhood Experience.”
This week we spoke to Bruce Murray. Bruce is a Father Advocate and Case Manager with MVNA, the community care extension of Hennepin Healthcare, providing visiting services to dads and has taught parenting classes in partnership with the FATHERS Project. He is a husband and father that spends his professional time connecting fathers to resources that support them in being the best dads they can be. (more…)
As a Level I pediatric trauma center, our role in the community is not only to care for children that are injured or ill, but also provide education and guidance to prevent injuries. Sadly, despite prevention efforts, drowning remains the leading cause of injury related death in children four years and younger. Before summer even started this year, we were seeing an unusually high number of pediatric drownings with a disproportionate number of these deaths in children of color. Like too many other health issues, there are significant racial and socioeconomic disparities in drowning rates among children. (more…)
We know that fatherhood looks different to every dad. That’s why we’re taking an in-depth look at fatherhood with key experts, regular parents, and everyone in between in this mini-series, “The Fatherhood Experience.”
Meet Dr. Krishnan Subrahmanian. A former high school teacher with a background in public health, he is a husband and father of three children under the age of five and spends his professional time as a pediatrician at Hennepin Healthcare. (more…)
As we emerge from this COVID haze, it is a great time to get your children caught up on their routine immunizations. If your child is eligible for a COVID vaccine (currently, those 12 years and up), now is also a great time.
As a mother of three, I will list the three reasons I think vaccines are so important, and why I have chosen to vaccinate my children (ages 11, 9, and 6) on time: (more…)
The information here is about the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. These are also called “mRNA” vaccines.
For most people, getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible is the safest choice. However, trials testing the vaccine in pregnant and breastfeeding individuals have not been completed.
This information will help you to make an informed choice about whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine while you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
You have two options:
November 20, 2020 is the 61st anniversary of the World’s Children’s Day, which commemorates the Declaration of the Rights of the Child that passed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on November 20, 1959. The rights of children have evolved and transformed since that historic day. In 1989, the UN put in place the Convention on the Rights of the Child to expand upon the Declaration and formulate a series of specific provisions further define these rights. They fall into three pillars: (more…)
