Summer 2021

Your quarterly maternal and child health newsletter, provided by the Snohomish Health District's Maternal Child Health team. Stay up to date on local programs, topics, and resources for families and the professionals who serve them.

In this issue...

COVID-19 Update & Resources
Mental Health Resources
Re-Entry Anxiety During the Pandemic
Education and Training Opportunities
Breastfeeding in the Workplace Survey
Snohomish Health District Program Updates

News Corner

COVID-19 Update & Resources

With vaccination rates increasing, it seems as though COVID-19 related guidelines and recommendations are changing every other day. Your most recent highlights are as follows:

Over 60% of Snohomish County residents 12 years of age or older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.
Appointments are no longer needed at mass vaccination sites in Snohomish County, though they are encouraged. You can get more information about mass vaccination sites and set up an appointment here.
Snohomish County and all other Washington counties are in Phase 3 of the Healthy Washington: Roadmap to Recovery and a statewide reopening will begin on June 30^thor sooner if over 70% of Washington residents 16 years and older are vaccinated.
The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use in children 12-15 years old. Vaccination for children under 18 years old will require caregiver consent. Currently, Pfizer is the only COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved for individuals ages 12-17.
Updated CDC guidance states that fully vaccinated people can resume pre-pandemic activities unmasked both in and outdoors. However, rules for masking can differ at the state and local level, and businesses may still be requiring masking regardless of vaccination status, so be sure to respect the rules of the venue you are visiting. For example, masks are still required regardless of vaccination status if you are on public transportation, at a medical or dental appointment, in a corrections facility, in a school and in other settings as specified locally or by the venue. See the guidance from CDC as well as more information from the DOH to learn more about safe activities and understand what it means to be fully vaccinated.

Featured Resources for Families

Mental Health Resources

May was Mental Health Awareness Month, but it doesn't stop there. Check out these resources for yourself, your clients, or loved ones who may be in need of mental health support.

Find a Mental Health Provider:

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists
Therapy Den: https://www.therapyden.com/
Open Path Collective: https://openpathcollective.org/ SLIDING SCALE

Mental Health Crisis Services:

Providence Behavioral Health Urgent Care, Everett, Call (425) 261-4210
Snohomish County Crisis Services, behavioral health professionals are available 24/7 to provide crisis counseling and referrals: Call (800) 584-3578. If you are outside of Snohomish County, visit the HCA website for county crisis line phone numbers. FREE
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, (800) 273-8255 FREE

Mindfulness & Meditation:

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff, PhD and Christopher Germer, PhD
Kristin Neff, Self Compassion: https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/ FREE
Tara Brach, psychologist, meditation teacher: www.tarabrach.com FREE
InsightTimer: https://insighttimer.com/ FREE
HeadSpace: https://www.headspace.com/

Maternal & Child Health Notes

Re-Entry Anxiety During the Pandemic

As vaccination rates increase and more of our local and national communities are protected from COVID-19, the world is said to be “re-opening” after more than a year of lockdowns, social restrictions, working and schooling from home, and various other safety precautions. That being said, you are not alone if the thought of leaving home without your mask or attending that indoor gathering you were invited to makes your heart race a little bit. In fact, many of us are feeling what some are calling “re-entry anxiety,” or the trepidation and fear that comes at the thought of resuming pre-pandemic activities even once fully vaccinated. You may be more prone to feeling anxious about life returning to “normal,” if the lockdown and pandemic restrictions have contributed to your sense of safety, if pre-pandemic activities like social gatherings or interacting with strangers was anxiety provoking for you, or if you really internalized the message that “staying home means staying safe.”

If you are feeling this way or if someone you know is feeling this way, know that this is a completely understandable response to what continues to be an unprecedented time. However, it could be that you are relieved and excited at the prospect of hugging your friends again or going to a concert. That’s completely understandable too. So, when it comes to addressing your feelings about re-entry, the first step is to take a deep breath and remind yourself that it is okay to feel however you are feeling right now.

Here are our other tips for addressing re-entry anxiety:

Examine the difference between feelings that stem from irrational fear and those that stem from appropriately sized concerns for safety. To do this, understand the risks in your area – look at case rates, vaccination rates, and guidelines for your state and county. Review guidance from trusted sources like the CDC, the Washington State Department of Health, and the Snohomish Health District and look into the science that backs up the guidance. Consider your risk based on these factors as well as the vaccination and health status of yourself and your family and make decisions accordingly.
Assess what you can and cannot control and focus on those things within your sphere of influence. Frustrated that the local grocery store lifted its mask mandate? Consider shopping at a store still enforcing masking or try to go at times that are less busy.
Use a rating system out of 10 and consider how anxiety provoking certain activities might be for you. Start with lower ranking activities and work your way up as you feel comfortable. If going to your niece’s wedding feels like a 9, start with an outdoor walk with your neighbor if that feels closer to a 2 or a 3.
Maintain a focus on the six stress busting strategies from the California Surgeon General as an effort to nurture your overall health and wellbeing. These are balanced nutrition, mindfulness practices, physical activity, quality sleep, supportive relationships, and mental health care.
Rather than focusing on the fear, think about those things that you are excited to be able to do again and think about how you can do those things safely. Are you looking forward to attending a sports game? Hugging your grandma? The possibility of gathering with family at the next big holiday?
Seek mental health care if needed. Persistent feelings of worry or hopelessness are not expected and may indicate a need for professional support. See the mental health resources above.

Featured Resources for Providers

Education & Training Opportunities

Math Anywhere Training – FREE
The Snohomish County Early Learning Coalition will be hosting a series of Math Anywhere training sessions throughout the month of June. Math Anywhere seeks to provide children with positive math experiences outside of school. This training will help professionals and caregivers think about math differently and understand how to incorporate math into everyday experiences. This opportunity is intended for caregivers, early learning providers, librarians, and home visitors. Sessions will be held 9-11 am PST at the following dates. Attendance at session one is required for sessions 2-4.

Session 1, June 4^th – Math Anywhere! Invite Math Play into Every Day
Session 2, June 11^th – How Many? Noticing and Talking about Quantity
Session 3, June 18^th – Find Shapes: Exploring Geometry in our Landscape
Session 4, June 25^th – Same or Different? Yes!
Sign up here!

Best Practices in Prevention, Identification and Treatment of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders – FREE
Perinatal Support Washington is providing this training that will help you to effectively identify and screen parents experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. This two-day training is appropriate for a range of providers, including OBs, pediatricians, midwives, RNs, social workers, mental health therapists, doulas, public health employees, home visitors, IBCLCs, and more. The training fulfills the 12 CEUs required for a mental health provider to be listed in Perinatal Support Washington’s provider directory. This offering is only for Washington State providers but is NOT open to providers serving clients in King County. There are similar King County specific trainings that can be accessed at the Perinatal Support Washington website.

Monday June 7th, 9am-5pm PST
Monday June 14th, 9am-5pm PST
Sign up here!

ACEs Quarterly, Perinatal Mental Health - FREE
Join the CM/NEAR collaborative for the July ACEs Quarterly event which will focus on perinatal mental health. This event will be co-presented by Meyleen Velasquez a psychotherapist of Hummingbird Counseling LLC and specialist in perinatal mood disorders, as well as Kima Tozay, a maternal mental health advocate with a background in clinical social work and who currently serves as the Chief of Clinical Services at Department of the Navy Fleet and Family Services.

Wednesday July 21, 3 – 4:30 pm
E-mail mmccaslin@snohd.org to join the listserv, or look out for an e-mail invitation coming your way at the end of June.

Groups at Work

Coalitions, Collaborations, & Councils

The Breastfeeding Coalition of Snohomish County
The Breastfeeding Coalition of Snohomish County wants to hear about your experience with breastfeeding at your workplace. The Coalition has been recognizing organizations across Snohomish County since 2016 for contributing to the health and wellbeing of our communities through providing robust support for breastfeeding employees. You do not need to be breastfeeding to fill out the survey, you need only be aware of your organization’s breastfeeding practices. Selected organizations will be recognized in The Herald.

Visit www.breastfeedingsnoco.org/workplace to take the survey. Responses requested by June 30^th!

Snohomish Health District Program Updates

Child Care Health Outreach Program

The Snohomish Health District has served our county, providing child health and safety guidance to child care providers throughout our community for several years. The Childcare Health Outreach Team was just awarded the 2021 Innovative Practice Bronze Award by The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). They received this award for a COVID training course they created for childcare providers. Click here for more information on the COVID-19 class and check out the online learning platform which includes many other courses for child care providers.

Thank you for reading! We plan to publish the next newsletter in September 2021

The Dyad+ (plus) highlights the health of the mother-child dyad plus their family and support system. The health and well-being of the mother-child dyad is dependent on each other, and the importance of the pregnancy and postpartum period cannot be overstated. The health status of the dyad during this unique time has a persistent and long lasting effect on an individual's lifelong health, and therefore has a big impact on the overall health of a population. The primary caregiver, who may or may not be the biological mother, fills an essential role in the child's life that can help or hinder the child's potential, especially for children under age 5. Maternal and child health is essential public health.

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