Under the leadership of new Executive Director Brenda Blasingame and with your support, we will build on HealthConnect One’s legacy to see every baby, mother and family thrive in a healthy community.
With a focus on equity, we will strengthen and expand our work to support the first 1,000 days of life by:
- Engaging communities that experience marginalization because of race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, culture and/or language.
- Training individuals and organizations so parents have support during pregnancy, so families bond with their newborn, get support for breastfeeding and healthy food options, and seek pathways to high-quality childcare, and so children and caregivers have support for their mental health and well-being, under- stand early learning and the developing brain, and work to reduce stress in the home as much as possible.
- Changing the conversation around pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding in this country to focus on the root causes of health inequities.
Why the first 1,000 days? The first 1,000 days, from pregnancy through the first three years of every child’s life, presents a unique window of time and an opportunity to create the foundations for optimum health and development. Pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and early parenting in the first 1,000 days affects how young children’s brains develop, their response to stress, and how they form trusting relationships.