The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) aims to improve the health of women of childbearing age, adolescents, children, infants, and children with special health care needs. Our staff supports the development of family-centered, community-based, coordinated systems of care.
Tips for Keeping Kids Safe This Halloween
Halloween safety begins before the tricks or treats! Make sure your child is safe this spooky season using the following tips:
- Wear reflective tape
- Use glow sticks
- Carry a flashlight
- Cross the street at well-lit corners
- Pay attention to your surroundings and make sure your children are clearly visible to oncoming traffic
For more #Halloween safety tips, visit safekids.org/tip/halloween-safety-tips.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Issues Statement on Pregnancy Health and COVID-19
On Sept. 29, 2021, the CDC issued a health advisory recommending that people who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including people breastfeeding), who are trying to become pregnant or who might become pregnant in the future, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
In August 2021, the CDC updated their guidance to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for all people age 12 and older, including people who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including those who are lactating), trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future. The CDC strongly recommends the COVID-19 vaccine to prevent serious illness, deaths and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The benefits for mom and baby of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination before, during or after pregnancy.
Despite this CDC recommendation and evidence indicating that COVID-19 vaccines are both safe and effective during pregnancy, currently only 31% of pregnant people overall are fully vaccinated prior to or during pregnancy. That percentage drops to 25% for Hispanic or Latino pregnant people and 15.6% for pregnant non-Hispanic Black women, revealing persistent health disparities.
Find where to get vaccinated near you on the federal Vaccine Finder website. Learn more about pregnancy and COVID-19 on the DSHS coronavirus webpage.
Additionally, the general public and health care providers can access the Maternal and Child Health Bureau-funded resource, MotherToBaby, via chat, text, phone, and email to receive up-to-date, evidence-based information on the effects of COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
Download the COVID-19 and Pregnancy Poster
The Texas Department of State Health Services' (DSHS) TexasAIM program developed a free poster in English and Spanish to encourage pregnant people, people who are breastfeeding and people trying to get pregnant now or in the future, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Download the posters by clicking the links below. These posters can be put in hospitals, clinics or other places where families visit.
Soon you can order printed copies of the 17 X 24 posters from the DSHS print shop. DSHS will update this webpage when that option become available.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and help to protect mothers and babies. There is no evidence of miscarriages, stillbirths, or preterm births linked to COVID-19 vaccines. We need your help to encourage this population to get vaccinated. Together we can help protect Texas mothers, mothers-to-be and babies against COVID-19. More COVID-19 vaccine information is available on the DSHS coronavirus webpage.
Webinar Recordings Now Available
Recordings from this summer's Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) webinars are now available on the DSHS Healthy Texas Mothers and Babies Online Webinar Channel.
If you did not attend these webinars, you can still view the recordings.
- HTMB Maternal Health Summer Seminar Series- A Call to Action: Improving Maternal Health Outcomes in Texas
- HTMB Perinatal Depression Series-DSHS Grand Rounds Jun. 9, Jul. 7, and Aug. 27
About A Call to Action: Improving Maternal
Health Outcomes in Texas
This webinar series was inspired by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Improve Maternal Health, and shared recommendations for improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality and morbidity disparities in Texas.
About
the Perinatal Depression Series-DSHS Grand Rounds
DSHS Grand Rounds hosted a series of continuing education presentations on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders as proposed in the Health and Human Services Postpartum Depression Strategic Plan (FY20). The series includes the following presentations:
- Screening and Early Detection: Psychiatric Disorders During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Perinatal Mood Disorders: Diagnosis, Treatment & Referral
Trauma & Maternal Health: Conceptualizing Impact and Providing Evidence-Based Care for PTSD during the Peripartum