My Passion for Supporting Moms and Babies

I discovered my passion for supporting moms and babies about 6 years ago after my first son was born. It was through a combination of personal struggles as a new mom, learning the struggles of others, and my background in health care that I developed an interest in maternal health and a desire to provide evidence based teaching and counseling to moms. I became an accredited Breastfeeding Counselor because I saw the benefits of coupling education with personalized care.

A year later, I started volunteer teaching prenatal and lactation classes to moms in the city who were struggling with a variety of hardships that made pregnancy and raising their child difficult. This opened my eyes to the many gaps and inconsistencies in our healthcare system and communities, and the need to improve access to quality health care for all women.

There is much to be praised regarding aspects of our healthcare system, and we must recognize and preserve them. However, we can also do better at replicating them or creating new opportunities to improve health outcomes for moms and babies.

I have spent a lot of time researching, studying, and observing what works well, what doesn’t work well, and why. There are a number of variables that influence health care outcomes, from the macro down to the micro: government policies, health care providers, health insurers, employers, education programs, communities, and families. There are additional factors to consider like cost, coverage, reimbursement, coordination, and transparency, etc. We must also look at it through the lens of the mom and consider what factors influence her unique situation based on family and social structure, education, culture, language, ethnicity, income, and health care coverage. Once we understand the full scope of the situation, we are better equipped to provide high quality care to moms and babies.

I believe one of the most influential factors for successfully supporting moms and babies is ensuring they have access to personal, compassionate, ongoing, consistent, and interactive health care services in their communities. When we leverage and coordinate existing expertise and resources in the community we are more likely to help moms overcome barriers to receiving quality health care.

As a State Representative, I will be committed to supporting policies that create and strengthen access to support networks for moms and babies. When women are educated, supported, and cared for by their immediate communities, they thrive in all areas of their lives. I am excited to get to work at the State house as a legislator to help all women receive the health care they deserve.

State Representative candidate for Winchester and Stoneham,
Elizabeth Harrah

To learn more about my campaign visit my webpage www.ElizabethHarrah.com.
Please feel free to contact me at Harrah4StateRep@gmail.com or 781-281-9811.