In the United States in 2021, 1 in 6 infants were born to a woman receiving late or no prenatal care (March of Dimes Foundation, 2022). The March of Dimes Foundation also found that on average from 2019 to 2021 9.2% of Black women received late or no prenatal care compared to 4.6% for white women. Infants born to mothers that did not receive prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth weight (Novoa, 2020). Low birth weight in infancy contributes to various health-related outcomes such as: respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and other long-term health complications (Novoa, 2020). Women who do not receive prenatal care are also three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than those women who do receive care (Novoa, 2020). Prenatal care is vital because newborns born to mothers who had no prenatal care are five times more likely to die than babies born to mothers who had early prenatal care (Wymelenberg, 1990).
Black women in Suwannee County are not receiving the prenatal care they need to provide a healthy life for themselves or their newborn. The Resilient Mommy, Healthy Baby program aims to reduce the number of Black women in Suwannee County who receive late or no prenatal care by offering free monthly routine prenatal care and biweekly resiliency-building activities. Black women are TWO times more likely than white women to receive 3rd trimester or no prenatal care in Suwannee County. 26.19% of Black women in Suwannee County received third trimester or no prenatal care in 2021 (FL Health Charts, 2021).
The Resilient Mommy, Healthy Baby prenatal clinic includes laboratory testing, genetic testing, point of care ultrasounds with limited anatomy scans, assistance enrolling in prenatal Medicaid and other financial assistance plans, breastfeeding education and mental health support, maternal postpartum care kit, and a referral for third trimester care prior to delivery.
Resilience is the way an individual addresses a stressful and adverse situation and is closely related to mental health and well-being (Weitzel et al., 2022) Low resilience has been associated with poorer pregnancy outcomes, which is why we offer resiliency-building activities for expecting mothers (Alves et al., 2021). Biweekly activities include gardening at a local nursery, cooking classes, participating in book club, and swim lessons.
Citations:
- Novoa , C. (2020). Ensuring healthy births through prenatal support: Innovations from three models. NCIT. https://www.ncit.org/ensuring_...ns_from_three_models
- March of Dimes Foundation . (2022). Late/no prenatal care: United States, 2017-2021. March of Dimes | PeriStats. https://www.marchofdimes.org/p...amp;slev=4&obj=1
- Alves, A. C., Cecatti, J. G., & Souza, R. T. (2021). Resilience and stress during pregnancy: A comprehensive multidimensional approach in maternal and perinatal health. The Scientific World Journal, 2021, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9512854
- Weitzel, E. C., Glaesmer, H., Hinz, A., Zeynalova, S., Henger, S., Engel, C., Löffler, M., Reyes, N., Wirkner, K., Witte, A. V., Villringer, A., Riedel-Heller, S. G., & Löbner, M. (2022). What builds resilience? sociodemographic and social correlates in the population-based life-adult-study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9601. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159601
- Health Charts, F. (2021). Births to mothers with 3rd trimester or no prenatal care. FLHealthCharts.gov. https://www.flhealthcharts.gov...port=Birth.DataViewe r&cid=0017
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