Innovations and Opportunities in Care for Black Mothers and Birthing People.

In recent years, there has been increased attention given to how racism fuels health inequities, including the inadequacy of prenatal care (PNC) that Black women and Black birthing people receive. This increase of attention has brought notable advancements in research, practice, and policy that intend to better understand and address these systemic inequities within the health care system. This review aims to provide an overview of promising developments in the study of Black mothers' and birthing people's experiences in PNC and delivery, to detail current research surrounding interventions to improve quality and mitigate bias in obstetric care, and to offer ways in which legislation can support such strategies targeting the root causes of inequities in care.

Emotion-focused teaching practices and preschool children's social and learning behaviors.

Preschool classrooms are rich with emotions, from a teacher's enthusiastic praise for a child's work to a child's anger at another child who is using wanted materials. A wide variety of teaching behaviors may help children learn about their own and others' emotional states as well as regulation strategies to manage their emotions. In the present study, we relate teachers' emotion-focused teaching behaviors (including how teachers model emotions, instruct about emotions, and respond to children's emotions) using a new observational tool, the EMOtion TEaching Rating Scale (EMOTERS). In addition, social and learning behaviors with teachers, peers, and tasks were observed for 77 children in 18 classrooms. We used the EMOTERS to predict children's social and learning behaviors within time (fall, spring) and over time (from fall to spring). Results affirm that emotion-focused teaching practices (modeling, responding, instructing) vary across classrooms. We also found instances of these practices being related-within time and over time-to children's social interactions with teachers and peers, and engagement in tasks. Most significant associations were found with emotion instructing, despite its relatively infrequent use in classrooms. Findings offer valuable initial evidence about EMOTERS as a tool for measuring emotion-focused teaching behaviors and potentially as a tool for supporting professional development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A Physical Therapy Intervention to Advance Cognitive and Motor Skills: A Single Subject Study of a Young Child With Cerebral Palsy.

BACKGROUND: Physical therapy interventions for children with severe motor impairments do not address the relationship between motor and cognitive development. PURPOSE: Evaluate the potential of a physical therapy intervention focusing on enhancing cognitive and motor outcomes in a child with severe motor impairments. DESIGN: AB phase design without reversal. METHODS: One child participated in 8 assessments from 4 to 29 months of age. The START-Play intervention was provided for 3 months following 4 baseline assessments over 12 months. Total Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Sitting, Reaching, and Problem Solving assessments were completed. Visual inspection, 2 standard deviation (SD) Band Method, and percent of nonoverlapping data methods evaluated change. RESULTS: This child had improved GMFM total and sitting scores, increased frequency of toys contacts, and increased rate of problem-solving behaviors following intervention. CONCLUSION: START-Play shows promise for children with severe motor impairments. Additional research is needed to evaluate efficacy.