Improve immunization rates in the families you care for: ACNM has resources and a free curriculum to up your immunization game!

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The data on the safety and efficacy of vaccines continues to grow. Despite this, vaccine hesitancy is on the rise. Social media have provided an easy way for those opposed to vaccines to spread misinformation. Midwives have an ethical obligation to promote sound science-based recommendations. ACNM has two position statements on vaccines: “Immunization in Pregnancy and Postpartum” and “Immunization Status Of Women and Their Families.”

For the last seven years, ACNM has received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve immunization rates in women. During the first five years of the grant, ACNM worked with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and during the last with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and Association of Women’s Health Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Under this grant we have produced a suite of materials for women and for midwives, including talking points, resources, and consumer-oriented handouts. Early in the project we produced “Super Mom” branded materials including posters, a coloring book, and frequently asked questions specific to:

  • The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine,
  • Flu and annual vaccination,
  • Whooping cough and the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine,
  • Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, and
  • Vaccines in pregnancy.

Another milestone regarding this grant was producing a curriculum on immunizations in pregnancy. This curriculum is free and available to any health care provider. Instructions on how to access the curriculum can be found here. The curriculum consists of a webinar that takes approximately one hour to complete and is eligible for 1 contact hour/1 CE.

Please share with your colleagues that this curriculum is free!

For more information on this project, please contact ACNM’s MPEGO Director Sharon Ryan, CNM, DNP at sryan@acnm.org.