AWHONN Insights Podcast

On this episode of AWHONN Insights, we’re joined by Jessica Hazboun, RN, BSN, PHN, ICCE, Healthy Mom&Baby Diaper Drive Nurse Consultant, Joanne Samuel Goldblum, CEO of the National Diaper Bank Network, and Troy Moore, Chief of External Affairs at the National Diaper Bank Network.

Tune in as we highlight the Healthy Mom&Baby Diaper Drive and celebrate National Diaper Need Awareness Week with our partners.

On this episode, we'll be discussing the primary prevention of RSV through Maternal Immunization. We are joined by Dr. Suzanne Staebler, Professor at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, who will give us an overview of the Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and discuss the current RSV maternal candidate vaccine trials. We will also hear from AWHONN nurse Dr. Lisa Klein, who will share her experiences in treating mothers with RSV.

On this episode of AWHONN insights, we sit down with AWHONN CEO, Jonathan Webb, AWHONN President, Cyndy Krening, and AWHONN President Elect, Sandy Cesario, to discuss nursing resiliency and what Nurses Week means to them.

“Effective January 1, 2021, The Joint Commission has developed two new standards to improve the quality and safety of perinatal care in Joint Commission–accredited hospitals. The new standards require organizations to look at their processes and procedures surrounding the care of women experiencing hemorrhage and severe hypertension/preeclampsia.”

In order to learn more, we are joined today by Dr. Toni Swinton, Division Director of Clinical Education at St. David’s Healthcare, Dr. Jean Salera-Vieira, Director of Clinical Program Development at AWHONN, and Dr. Susan Hale, Manager of Clinical Program Development at AWHONN. We will hear a brief overview of the new Standards, receive tips for nurses and other healthcare providers, and go over the resources that are currently available to help our listeners prepare.

“Effective January 1, 2021, The Joint Commission has developed two new standards to improve the quality and safety of perinatal care in Joint Commission–accredited hospitals. The new standards require organizations to look at their processes and procedures surrounding the care of women experiencing hemorrhage and severe hypertension/preeclampsia.”

In order to learn more, we are joined today by Dr. Toni Swinton, Division Director of Clinical Education at St. David’s Healthcare, Dr. Jean Salera-Vieira, Director of Clinical Program Development at AWHONN, and Dr. Susan Hale, Manager of Clinical Program Development at AWHONN. We will hear a brief overview of the new Standards, receive tips for nurses and other healthcare providers, and go over the resources that are currently available to help our listeners prepare.

In early 2020, AWHONN released the Analgesia and Anesthesia in the Intrapartum Period: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline. Soon after, our Science Team was contacted by Nurse Jennifer Webb, who shared her story of lower extremity nerve injury (LENI) in an effort to bring awareness to this issue, and emphasize the importance of proper position during the intrapartum period.

According to the study, “A Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Opioid Consumption after Cesarean Birth,” by Dr. Adriane Burgess, Amy Harris, Julia Wheeling and Roni Dermo, one in 300 opioid naïve women become addicted to opiates after cesarean birth. Also, after cesarean, women are often prescribed more opiates at discharge than necessary, resulting in increased opportunity for diversion.

In order to learn more about this study, we are joined by two of the authors; Dr. Adriane Burgess and Amy Harris, who will share their insights on the effects of the opioid epidemic in the perinatal space and alternative comfort strategies for pain management post-cesarean.

With no end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, educators of all backgrounds are striving to find virtual and innovative teaching solutions for their students. In the realm of nursing education, there are a few caveats; nurse educators must now find ways to capture the in-person clinical experience in a virtual format while adhering to the specific didactic and clinical competency requirements set by their respective state boards.

On this episode, we will dig deeper into the ups and downs of virtual experiential education with Dr. Joan Edwards, former AWHONN President, Professor at Texas Woman's University and Director of its Center for Global Nursing, Diego Rivas, a student of Dr. Edwards, and Barry Dye, their former patient. Dr. Edwards, Diego, and Barry will share the ways in which they’ve had to navigate this new normal from the teacher, learner, and patient perspectives.

According to the CDC, “Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put some members of racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting COVID-19 or experiencing severe illness, regardless of age” (CDC, 2020). This information aligns with the ongoing research conducted by the American Public Media (APM) Research Lab, which has found that Black Americans continue to experience the highest overall COVID-19 mortality rates – at a staggering 69.7 deaths per 100,000 as of July 13, 2020 (APM, 2020) followed by Indigenous Americans at 51.3 and Pacific Islanders at 40.5 (APM, 2020). The mortality rates continue to climb, as do the disparities. As of July 21, 2020, Black Americans are now dying at a rate of 73.7 deaths per 100,000, a stark contrast to the 32.4 per 100,000 mortality rate for White Americans.

These alarming rates for Black Americans can be attributed to multiple factors, including preexisting health conditions, limited access to resources, racism and implicit bias, stigma, and systemic inequities within the field of healthcare. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, President and Founder of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, and Dr. Shawana Moore, AWHONN Member, and Assistant Professor, Program Director, and Practitioner at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Crear-Perry and Dr. Moore will share their insights on racism, implicit bias, stigma, and disrespectful care, and provide us with the tools necessary for moving forward.

As providers, patients, and loved ones continue to make crucial decisions regarding care, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), and the National Perinatal Association (NPA), joined together and released a position statement on shared decision making titled, “Mothers with COVID-19 and Their Newborn Infants.” On this episode, we are joined by two of the authors, Dr. Jerry Ballas, president of the NPA and Dr. Tiffany Moore of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and AWHONN President, Rebecca Cypher, who will help us better understand the shared decision making model and its implications in the COVID-19/perinatal space.