Emily Price oversees the national expansion of the evidence-based Count the Kicks public health program that educates and empowers expectant parents to track their babies’ movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. The proven stillbirth prevention campaign helped lower Iowa’s stillbirth rate by nearly 32% in the first decade. This major reduction happened while the rest of the country remained relatively stagnant. Additionally, the stillbirth rate among African American women in Iowa decreased by a promising 39% in the first five years of the program. Price leads the vision of Healthy Birth Day Inc.’s stillbirth prevention work — with an overall goal of realizing a 32% stillbirth rate reduction in all 50 states, which would save 7,000 babies every year. Under her leadership and working alongside an extraordinary team, the following has been accomplished:
- Count the Kicks research published in BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2023
- Featured on Good Morning America, ProPublica, Sunday Night Football on NBC, The Washington Post, USA Today, Inside Edition, and dozens more media outlets — reaching more than 350 million people across the globe
- The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) named Count the Kicks a Best Practice in 2021
- Primary stakeholder organization of the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act in the United States Congress
- Expansion of Count the Kicks into 25 states with a minimum 5 additional states launching in 2023
- Hundreds of presentations across the country in partnership with key allies such as HRSA, OASH, AWHONN, AMCHP, International Stillbirth Alliance, The National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, National WIC Association, National Rural Health Association, and more
- Collection of 110+ Count the Kicks baby save stories in 33 states and 5 countries
Emily knows the power of kick counting because it saved her son Hayden. In 2010, at 30 weeks pregnant, she noticed his movements were slowing down. Because she knew to track his movements, she was able to alert her doctor when she noticed the change. That doctor knew exactly how to keep her son safe for 10 more weeks, and Hayden was delivered healthy and on time.
Emily is forever grateful to the founding moms for their courage — without them she would have never known the importance of kick counting. Emily tells every expectant parent she knows about kick counting and will do so for the rest of her life.
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