Building Economic Security Today: making the health-wealth connection in Contra Costa county's maternal and child health programs.

In recent years, maternal and child health professionals have been seeking approaches to integrating the Life Course Perspective and social determinants of health into their work. In this article, we describe how community input, staff feedback, and evidence from the field that the connection between wealth and health should be addressed compelled the Contra Costa Family, Maternal and Child Health (FMCH) Programs Life Course Initiative to launch Building Economic Security Today (BEST). BEST utilizes innovative strategies to reduce inequities in health outcomes for low-income Contra Costa families by improving their financial security and stability.

An exploration of lifetime trauma exposure in pregnant low-income African American women.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the occurrence of lifetime trauma exposure in relation to perinatal health outcomes in low-income African American women.

Methods: One hundred and sixteen pregnant African American women recruited from two public prenatal clinics participated in this exploratory study. Information was obtained about psychological symptoms, medical conditions, prenatal care utilization, and health behaviors.