Kelli
Damstra,
DNP, MSN, RN
Associate Professor
Grand Valley State University
Dr. Kelli Damstra has been faculty with the Kirkhof College of Nursing since 2009. Her area of scholarship and interest is improving maternal and infant health through promotion and support of breastfeeding in the community. She teaches maternal child nursing, and she has served as the obstetrical clinical coordinator in the undergraduate program at KCON since 2015.
Presenting at the Nexus Summit:
This lightening talk highlights an innovative, volunteer-based program to support parents in the vulnerable postpartum period. The community organization trains volunteers to provide hands-on, in home, non-medically based companionship and support to parents with infants aged 0-12 weeks. New parents in the US face many barriers in accessing physical and mental health care in the perinatal period. Parents and caregivers often struggle with a range of problems including stress, isolation, and mental health concerns such as the baby blues and postpartum depression or anxiety. These issues affect…