Adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress are extremely common. Two out of every three people experience one or more traumatic early life event. These events have been shown to increase the risk of many medical conditions including cancer, heart disease and early death. By identifying risk early, and working to build strategies for mitigating adverse childhood experiences, we can work together to build a healthier future for our children.
This episode written by Drs. Vidhi Jhaveri, Lena van der List and Dean Blumberg.
Dr. Vidhi Jhaveri is a pediatrician at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
We thank Dr. Marcia Unger, a psychiatrist at UC Davis Medical Center for reviewing this episode, although Drs. Vidhi, Lena and Dean take full responsibility for any errors or misinformation.
Supplemental material:

* ACEs Aware Self-Care Tool for Pediatrics

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

* Harvard University Center on the Developing Child InBrief: Resilience Series

* Harvard University Center on the Developing Child What We Can Do About Toxic Stress

* The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

* Healthy Children ACEs – Adverse Childhood Experiences

* American Academy of Pediatrics The Resilience Project

Phone numbers:

* The National Domestic Violence hotline 800-799-SAFE (7233)

* National Sexual Assault hotline 800-656-HOPE (4673)

* National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255)

* Crisis text line text HOME to 741-741

Photo from WAIMH Perspectives in Infant Mental Health