Director Bianchi Addresses Friends of NICHD  

The Friends of the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), of which FABBS serves on the executive committee, met earlier this month to discuss advocacy efforts and hear from NICHD Director Diana Bianchi, M.D. Her presentation included appropriations updates, NICHD research highlights, and NIH-wide initiatives. 

Appropriations Update 

• President Biden’s FY24 budget request for the NICHD is $1.747 billion, the same as FY23. Over 60 organizations signed onto the FoNICHD request for $1.877 billion for NICHD in FY24  

[Friends of NICHD FY 2024 Appropriations Request Letter] 

NICHD Research Highlights 

Implementing a Maternal health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative: 

• Maternal deaths have increased by more than a half between 2019 and 2021, yet over 80% of those deaths are preventable 
• The main causes of deaths differ by race and ethnicity 
• Recommendation: Partner with local communities to address individual needs

Stillbirth Working Group:  

• About 65 stillbirths occur each day within the U.S., yet few risk factors leading to stillbirth have been discovered 
• Recommendation: Develop culturally sensitive programs informed by individuals’ lived experiences with still birth
  

Commonly Used Drugs During Lactating and infant Exposure (CUDDLE) study:  

• For 98% of the common drugs used during lactation, there is no knowledge of how it gets into breast milk and how much transfers to the baby 
• Recommendation: Improve medicine research on children and pregnant and lactating people
  

Other initiatives: 

• To determine how technology and social media use affects children’s health 
• To assess COVID-19 impacts on pregnant and lactating women
  

NIH-Wide Highlights

• The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program 
• The Tackling Acquisition of Language in Kids (TALK) Initiative, involving expressive speech developmental delays 

[Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplement for Tackling Acquisition of Language in Kids (TALK) Initiative] 

• Climate change impacts on health 
• Firearms research
  

Those interested in learning about how to engage with NICHD can contact laura.berkson@nih.gov and natasha.williams2@nih.gov