By Sally Diaz
San Antonio Cancer Survivor On May 5, 2014, just 6 days before Mother’s Day, my world came crashing down. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. I noticed my lump on accident while waking up from bed and stretching. I was 42, married, and a mother of a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. I tested negative for genetic testing and I had no history of breast cancer in my family. Within two weeks of my diagnosis my roller coaster ride had begun and I was admitted into the hospital so that a medi-port could be implanted in my chest for chemotherapy. My life has never been the same. As a mother diagnosed with cancer, the first thought that comes to your mind is your children and the fear that you will not be there for ...
San Antonio approved funding for the city’s first ever position dedicated to addressing and preventing childhood trauma and toxic stress. Nationwide, schools, communities, organizations and municipal agencies are working to better help the 46% of youth who have suffered an adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). For example, in Newark, New Jersey, Equal Justice USA is working with the Newark Police to teach policy and civilians how trauma impacts their daily lives, and in San Francisco, California, pediatricians are working community mental health providers in schools to address childhood trauma and reunification stress among unaccompanied immigrant children. Unfortunately, efforts like these often lack the coordinated, community-wide network needed to reach children and families ...
Nationwide, 20.6% of Latino youth and 22.5% of Black youth have obesity compared to 12.5% of white youth, according to a new data report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The new data feature obesity rates among youth ages 10-17 nationally and from each state from the 2016 and 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), along with analysis conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Five states have Latino youth obesity rates over 30%. No states have White youth obesity rates over that mark. “Far too many young people in this country are facing increased chances of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, all due to a preventable condition … black and Latino youth are still more likely ...
Adult obesity rates reached 35% in at least 7 states and saw increases in 31 states across the U.S. from 2012-2017, while no significant drops in obesity rates were seen in any state, over the last year. These are the latest findings from a report from the Trust for America's Health and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report developed using data from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) goes on to highlight how adult obesity continued to rise in at least 6 states: Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, between 2016-2017. In the case of Iowa and Oklahoma, this is the first time these states reach the 35% obesity threshold. The states with the highest levels of obesity by rank are: #1- West Virginia ...
Sylvia Lopez knows low-income mothers need lots of support in South Texas and San Antonio. Lopez knows the research that shows Latino kids start kindergarten behind their peers, experience many childhood traumas, and are at risk of not getting the proper care, services, and environment they need for healthy formative development. That's why Lopez is connecting in-need pregnant women to home visits from nurses to ensure healthier pregnancies, families, and children, through a South Texas application of a national program—the Nurse-Family Partnership. See how the program works and how it's helping South Texas moms, children, and families!
The National Nurse-Family Partnership
The Nurse-Family Partnership got its start in the 1970s. David Olds, who had just graduated from ...
Healthy mind. Healthy body. Health baby. Whether you are planning to get pregnant now, next month, or in the future, preconception health is extremely important for Latino and all parents. When you hear about preconception health, one often assumes this responsibility lies with the women, but a man's health can be just as important when it comes to having a healthy baby. At a population level, preconception health can drastically improve birth outcomes by reducing the number of babies born prematurely or at low birth weights, according to the CDC.
What should both partners do before planning a pregnancy?
For Latino and all families, preconception health should involve both partners wanting to take initiative to improve the chances of a healthy pregnancy. Regardless of ...
Women who eat a lot of fast food may take longer to become pregnant and be more likely to experience infertility than those who rarely eat fast food, Reuters reports. Women who ate fast food at least four times a week had a 16% risk of infertility and failed to conceive after 12 months of trying, according to a study by the Robinson Research Institute and the University of Adelaide in Australia of 5,598 first-time mothers in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The risk was only 8% in women who rarely or never ate fast food. This has big implications for Latinas' fertility and the food environment.
Latinas and Fertility
"In families of color, there’s an assumption that when you want to get pregnant, you get pregnant," one woman told the New York Times a few years ago. But ...
Colorado moms in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) can text peer counselors any time of day for breastfeeding advice, thanks to a new program being expanded across the state. WIC is a federal program that boosts healthcare and nutrition for vulnerable women and children. Latinos comprise nearly half of the 8.8 million WIC participants. WIC aims to improve breastfeeding rates, curb obesity, and boost early childhood development. Could texting help WIC moms get breastfeeding support they need? “We know breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed babies, but sometimes new moms need extra support,” Heidi Hoffman, director of WIC in Colorado, said in a news release. “Using technology, we can help more moms in more places for less ...
Jenny Arredondo knows some San Antonio students leave school and don't eat again until they return to school the next day. Many students live in poverty. Some don't know where their next meal is coming from. Arredondo wanted to help. Arredondo, senior executive director of child nutrition at San Antonio ISD, found a solution in Texas State Rep. Diego Bernal's new state law. Schools now can start "school food pantries" to accept and store donated food and surplus food from the cafeteria, and distribute that leftover food to hungry students. How could she start school food pantries at San Antonio ISD?
Food Insecurity at San Antonio ISD
U.S. Latino children and families often struggle with poverty and live in poverty stricken neighborhoods with abundant fast food but little ...
