Maternal and Child Health

Do you want to help improve the lives of women, children and families across the globe? The field of maternal and child health (MCH) addresses the physical and mental health needs of women, children, and families across their lifespan, and the five courses in this MCH program are grounded in this life course perspective. The MCH field has grown to encompass the work of the academic community and local, national, and global public health professionals, all working to ensure that women are healthy before, during, and after pregnancy. 

Students will learn about the history of women’s health in the larger context of the history of public health, and about maternal and child health global challenges programs and policies and the impact on the many health and political challenges that women continue to face today. These challenges are explored in more depth in a course on MCH Foundations, which provides what you need to know about the field of MCH today.

To address health challenges and improve the lives of women, children, and youth globally, you’ll learn practical skills, including how to interpret research data and apply it, along with health behavior change theories and developing innovative programs and interventions. In a course on women’s health, you’ll also learn how to impact health policy and create beneficial change at the population level.  

As a final check on what you’ve learned, you’ll have the opportunity to apply your new skills in a capstone project. You’ll be presented with real-world MCH scenarios and challenged to apply what you’ve learned in the four preceding courses, using critical thinking and creativity. 

Those who successfully complete all 5 of these graduate-level courses and go on to apply and are accepted to the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and its MCH Master of Public Health (MPH) program, can apply their coursework as 6 elective credits towards the 45 credits needed to complete the program degree. Learners who successfully complete all five verified courses in this sequence will also receive the edX MicroMasters micro-credential. 

Additionally, such students would benefit from the GW Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, one of only 13 such centers in the United States. The Center provides extra resources to help develop MCH enthusiasts into future professionals, through fellowships for practice and research, relationships with community-based organizations doing MCH work, and professional development events and activities.

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Pathways to Public Health

Pathways to Public Health provides learners with a working knowledge of the issues public health professionals are striving to address every day. You will meet public health specialists who focus on dimensions of health relating to: the environment, family and community, personal behaviors and decision making, health services delivery and access, and utilizing data to both identify the underlying causes of disease, and to track and control the spread of disease.

Course 2: History of Maternal and Child Health

This course discusses the history of women’s and maternal child health in the broader context of public health history. We will explore how these historical contexts continue to manifest and influence equitable health care access and utilization for women, youth, and children.

Course 3: Maternal and Child Health Foundations

This course explores issues affecting the health and well-being of women, children, and families. Taking a multidisciplinary life course perspective, this course considers the social and structural determinants of health including biological, demographic, epidemiological, economic, behavioral, social, cultural and environmental aspects.

Course 4: Women’s Health

In this course learners will gain an understanding of women’s health issues across the lifespan. Going beyond the focus of reproductive health, learners explore important issues such as: Women and Relationships, Issues of Interpersonal Violence, Women and Mental Health, LGBTIA Health, and Women’s Aging.

Course 5: Capstone: Maternal and Child Health

In this capstone course learners will integrate and synthesize knowledge gained from the four preceding courses and apply that knowledge to real-world maternal and child health scenarios nationally and globally. Learners will explore the health and well-being of adolescent girls globally, climate change, women’s economic empowerment, and maternal health in the U.S.