National Perinatal Task Force – A program component of Commonsense Childbirth Inc. 

Your participation is critical. The National Perinatal Task Force (NPTF) is a community of people who have a heart for women and babies and are concerned about the persistent and worsening maternal child health outcomes in the USA. People who have heard the statistics, understand that the system is broken and want to make a practical difference in the health of mothers and babies. The NPTF is a grassroots movement that wants to start and grow Perinatal Safe Spots (PSS) in every ‘Materno-Toxic Area’ – areas where it is not safe or conducive to being pregnant or parenting young children. The NPTF is a place to share ideas about what’s working and what’s not. The NPTF is here to support YOU supporting women and families. 

Jennie’s goal is to see that in every Materno-Toxic Area in the United States there is a Perinatal Safe Spot operating within a reasonable geographical radius, or accessible via our virtual or in-person networks to every person that needs support.

Perinatal Safe Spot
A Perinatal Safe Spot is a physical or virtual space, or both –  a place where women and families can safely connect and find support. A Perinatal Safe Spot is also a place to utilize the four tenets of The JJ Way ® model of care which enable ANYBODY who cares to make a positive difference in a pregnant or parenting woman’s life. The tenets are to provide ACCESS, CONNECTIONS, KNOWLEDGE and EMPOWERMENT in order to increase the opportunities for a positive birth outcome. 
 
A Perinatal Safe Spot provides – 
Access to a willing, supportive and culturally congruent person, team and environment; who can connect someone to effective, trusted resources and referrals for medical and non-medical needs and services; so that pertinent and practical knowledge can be shared, both ways; thus leading to empowerment, better health, safety and improved outcomes all round. 
 

Materno-toxic areas
Materno-toxic areas, zones or environments are often in disenfranchised urban neighborhoods or low-resource rural areas where women and babies are particularly at risk of a poor birth outcome because it is not SAFE to be pregnant, breastfeeding or parenting in those areas. Additionally, we recognize that the toxicity of implicit and explicit biases, racism, classism and sexism is created wherever a pregnant woman of color may be, and as such the materno-toxic status is not always because of a specific geographic location, but may be equally unsafe. 

 
When unsure about these specific social determinants of health, consider whether you yourself would be happy and feel safe living there, pregnant or otherwise, or whether you would find certain treatment acceptable for yourself or your family? If the answer is no, then it’s likely to be a materno-toxic area, zone or environment  which may ultimately be lethal to either mother, baby or both. 
 
 

“We can no longer stand by and claim that we can’t fix this mess. Let’s start the conversation, let’s lead the revolution, let’s DO something – NOW!” ~ Jennie Joseph

 

 

 

The NPTF is a program component of COMMONSENSE CHILDBIRTH INC. 59-3479821– a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Corporation.