One of our MCH trainees participated in this year’s Making Lifelong Connections meeting, held in April.
By Miranda Pollock, BS
The Making Lifelong Connections conference is a gathering of various people who are grantees of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau Leadership Training programs. This year, it took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The grantees include Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP), Leadership and Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH), Nutrition, Leadership and Education for Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), Pediatric Pulmonary Centers (PPC), and Schools of Public Health. As a Tulane School of Public Health student, and as a Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health (CEMCH) scholar, it was great to meet people and have exposure to organizations that are also under the broad umbrella of MCH, that I may not have otherwise interacted with. We often cringe in public health at the idea of operating in “silos,” and this was a chance for me to break through the university setting and interact with people from a more diverse MCH background.
I had the wonderful opportunity to view posters and hear presentations on topics such as diversity trainings, maternal morbidity, and providing care for folks who are differently-abled. Overall, the conference was mostly about leadership and networking in the field of public health. In small groups, we discussed the importance of social media in our work, self-care, leadership vs. management, and cultural humility. Additionally, we all exchanged information with each other via LinkedIn. This has helped to significantly widen my network.
I did, however, notice some missing parts of the conference. I always find it shocking whenever anything tied to MCH fails to recognize the linkage between environmentalism, feminism, and compassion. This omission was so exemplified by the serving of meat, dairy, and other animal products. After attending another conference this year where almost all the food was vegan, the abundance of bacon and butter made me shudder! I recommend all public health workers (and all people in general) read the books “The Sexual Politics of Meat,” by Carol Adams and “Staying Alive,” by Vandana Shiva if they are unclear about my shock and frustration. Additionally, there was much talk about the importance of diversity, but the paradox was that there was almost no talk about supporting gender and sexual minorities like queer and trans communities. It has been my observation that we tend to overlook such connections in public health; I long for MCH to find solidarity with all those oppressed.
However, I must acknowledge that I am an idealist who may never feel satisfied if I am always longing for solidarity across all peoples and species. In a more positive light, the MLC conference allowed for many life course connections to be made. For example, I was able to personally connect and share ideas with people in adolescent health and other schools of public health who share common goals as I around a future vision of comprehensive sexuality education and a world free of institutionalized racism. Within this conference where I found some parts outdated, I also found fellow peers who felt similarly. Through this, I found my own connections and satisfaction, and have decided that there is hope for the future of MCH and all those we wish to serve and liberate.
Miranda Pollock is finishing her first year as an MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. Her background is in human biology and environmental microbiology. She plans to graduate in May 2017. Her interests include teen pregnancy prevention, STI prevention, and community collaboration. She also loves the arts, cycling, yoga, and meeting new people.
