AWHONN Insights Podcast

Cultural Exchange in High-Risk Nursing Education 
November 13, 2024

In August 2024, Dr. Kandis McLean partnered with Avion Drayton-Bailey and the Trinidad and Tobago National Nursing Association to led a team of U.S. nurses to Trinidad and Tobago to teach AWHONN’s Obstetric Patient Safety Program. Learn about their motivation, preparation, cultural adaptations, and team dynamics, especially if you’d like to take your nursing skills abroad. This episode highlights the importance of global collaboration in maternal health with the shared goal of reducing maternal mortality rates.

Empowering Nurses Against Human Trafficking
October 24, 2024

Our conversation with Dr. Francine Bono-Neri delves into the global crisis of human trafficking as she shares her journey into the anti-trafficking movement. She discusses how health care professionals can identify and support survivors, the psychological manipulation involved in trafficking, and the need for trauma-informed care. This episode also details the impact of digital technology on child safety and encourages listeners to get involved in the anti-trafficking movement.

Warning: Some of this content may be distressing or triggering, especially for survivors of abuse and trauma. Please prioritize your well-being.

Recovering From Vicarious Trauma
October 9, 2024

Nurses who work closely with patients going through a traumatic experience often witness events that can lead to emotional distress and/or PTSD. This episode centers pathways to healing from secondary or vicarious trauma. Our guests Krysta Dancy and Dr. Ashley Winch discuss how to recognize and get help.

Addressing Diaper Need and Period Poverty
September 25, 2024

In recognition of National Diaper Need Awareness Week and the start of a new school year, we discuss the nationwide issues of diaper need and period poverty. Dr. Tabitha Poole and Lacey Gero are passionate about these issues and share the stats and resources from the National Diaper Bank Network and the advocacy on basic needs informed care. Listen to find out how you can be a changemaker in this space.

Nurses Turned Advocates: Surviving and Thriving After Birth Trauma
September 12, 2024

Join us as we talk to Angie and Kate, two nurses who became maternal health advocates after surviving their own harrowing birth–related complications. You’ll learn what it’s like to sometimes know too much, how peer support for birth trauma survivors can impact recovery, and what nurses can do to save lives.

Leading the Charge to Improve Maternal Mental Health
August 23, 2024

In this episode, we dive into the complex world of maternal mental health with a spotlight on postpartum depression and anxiety and the challenges of sleep deprivation. Join us as we explore the emotional and physical toll that new motherhood can bring and uncover practical strategies for the support and care of postpartum families.

Navigating Infant Feeding and Overcoming Breastfeeding Challenges
August 9, 2024

Join us during National Breastfeeding Month as we delve into the world of infant feeding with two leading experts who overcame breastfeeding challenges. We’ll discuss their passion for infant feeding and skin-to-skin care, how they’ve achieved career success in clinical practice and publishing, and their solution-oriented visions for the future of infant feeding.

The Impact of Perinatal Mood Disorders
July 26, 2024

Join us as we discuss perinatal mood disorders and their impact on pregnant and postpartum people. Tune in to hear about resources available for those in need, perinatal yoga as a coping tool, and foundational support to help parents achieve their optimal mental health status. Our guests from the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for POC Postpartum Support International share tips for how you can support your patients experiencing PMAD.

Do You Know Your State’s Maternal Levels of Care Requirements?
July 18, 2024

Maternal Levels of Care requirements vary across different states. Tune in to learn about navigating rules, strategies for implementing and sustaining quality initiatives, and effective engagement of staff and physicians. You don’t want to miss this episode recorded live during the 2024 AWHONN Convention with a group of dedicated nurse leaders and an AWHONN Board member.

Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – The Nurse’s Role
July 1, 2024

An AWHONN Board Member joins this panel of changemakers from the Collaborative for Alcohol‐Free Pregnancy, NP’s, Midwives, and Nurses partnering to prevent FASDs at the 2024 AWHONN Convention. Together, we learn more about neurodiversity, living with FASD, and implementing evidence-based care practices that reduce stigma and educate about the risks of substance and alcohol use while pregnant. Join us as we delve into the complex nature of people; then add your name to the champion list.

Co-host: Jessica Irrobali, MSN, RNC-OB, C-ONQS, C-EFM and Kimber Stovesand, RN, BSN

When Nursing Meets Reproductive Justice, A Community-Based Approach
June 13, 2024

Dr. Nastassia Harris’ passion and commitment as a nurse and IBCLC is inspiring. She shares her motivation to advocate for black moms and babies and steps to empower those in her Essex County, NJ community. Tune in for how you can best connect moms, birthing people, and babies to local resources that support positive health outcomes.

Co-host: LaShea Haynes, M.Ed, MSN, AGCNS-BC, APRN, RNC, C-EFM

Effective, Trauma-Informed Perinatal Care
May 23, 2024

Advocate for patients by centering their needs and asking how they want to receive care. Dr. Tracey Vogel supports nurses in shifting their thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors to better advocate for patients and their needs. This episode packs tools into your toolbox!

Co-host: Jennifer Peterman, BSN, RN, IBCLC

Dr. Vogel’s family story used with permission

Valuing the Village In Black Nursing Leadership
April 24, 2024

Nurses Cheniqua Morales and Tenesia Richards were both determined to be successful. Here’s how their journeys collided to bring forth joy in leadership despite the obstacles. Your village will not let you fall!

Co-hosts: Jamie Agunsday, MA, MSN, RNC-OB and Kimber Stovesand, RN, BSN

Promoting Maternal Health & Rights through Respectful Maternity Care
April 9, 2024

April 11th is International Day for Maternal Health & Rights. We’ll meet Midwife Dr. Jessica Brumley; Director of Midwifery, Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of South Florida, and discuss her passion for the kind of respectful care all birthing persons deserve.

Co-host: Shannon Francois, MSN-E, RNC-OB

Podcast 18: Perinatal Bereavement

Podcast 17: National Diaper Need Awareness Week 2022

Podcast 16: The Importance of Human Milk for Neonates

Podcast 15:  Celebrating Nurses Week 2022

Podcast 14:  Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month 

On this episode of AWHONN Insights, we sit down with Dr. Emily Haozous to learn more about the Indian Health Service and the health disparities within Native American and Alaska Native communities.

Podcast 13:  National Diaper Need Awareness Week

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.

We would also like to thank our partner, Huggies, who generously provides the funding for the Healthy Mom&Baby Diaper Drive, through which nurses provide diapers to their most vulnerable patients to ensure they have all of the diapers that they need to stay clean, dry, and healthy.

Podcast 12: Primary Prevention of RSV through Maternal Immunization

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.

This podcast is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through a subaward from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Its contents are solely the authors’ responsibility. They do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Podcast 11: Nurses Week

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.

Podcast 10: Respectful Maternity Care

According to the World Health Organization, “many women across the globe experience disrespectful, abusive or neglectful treatment during childbirth in facilities. This constitutes a violation of trust between women and their health-care providers and can also be a powerful disincentive for women to seek and use maternal health care services.” Their recommendations on intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience includes, “the provision of respectful maternity care that maintains women’s dignity, privacy and confidentiality, enables informed choice and continuous support throughout labor and childbirth, and ensures freedom from mistreatment.”

On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Cheryl Larry-Osman, Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist at Henry Ford Hospital, and Dr. Ifeyinwa Asiodu, Assistant Professor at the UCSF School of Nursing, for an in-depth discussion on the respectful maternity care movement. They give us an overview of respectful maternity care, share the ways in which COVID-19 has exacerbated healthcare inequities, and provide our listeners with respectful care strategies that they can implement at their institutions.

Podcast 9: The Joint Commission: New Standards for Perinatal Safety

“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.

Podcast 8: Lower Extremity Nerve Injury During Childbirth

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.

On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Cheryl Parker – AWHONN Science Team member and Assistant Director of the Program of Nurse Anesthesia at Murray State University, and Jennifer Web – Critical Care Nurse at Texas Health. Tune in to learn more about LENI, and the collaboration that led to the development of AWHONN Practice Brief No. 11 – Lower Extremity Nerve Injury in Childbirth.

Podcast 6: Virtual Nursing Education: Innovation for the New Normal

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.

Podcast 5: The Impact of Implicit Bias in Healthcare

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. On 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.

Podcast 4: Shared Decision Making

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.

Podcast 3: Wellness Tips and Tricks During Covid-19

At a time when self-care has taken a backseat to COVID-19, we sit down with Traci Richards, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC, C-ELBW, and D’Anne Moon MS, CNM, and discuss their tips and tricks for coping with stress, nutrition and overall wellness in their institutions, and at home. This episode continues the conversation from the jointly provided ACNM and AWHONN webinar titled, “From Chaos to Calm: Developing a Self-Care Toolkit for COVID -19 and Beyond.” Traci and D’Anne, who participated in that self-care webinar, share their insights in creating a relaxing environment for inpatient mothers, families, and perinatal care providers.

Podcast 2: Covid-19 in the Perinatal Space

Featuring AWHONN Board members and nurses, Margie Bridges and Dr. Suzanne Baird, discussing ways in which they’re working to combat the spread of COVID-19, ideas that have worked to offset some challenges, and tools appropriate for nurses across our country.

Podcast 1: Simulations in Perinatal Education 
Learn insights from Cathy Jones, MSN, RN-BC, RNC-OB, C-EFM a POEP instructor and Michaela Williams a former POEP learner as they discuss their experiences with implementing AWHONN’s Perinatal Orientation and Education Program (POEP) at their facility