The myriad ways hospitals are furthering maternal health

Boosting healthy eating and breastfeeding rates

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health’s Maternal and Infant Outreach Initiative aims to reduce infant mortality by providing resources to new and expectant mothers. More than two-thirds of mothers visited at home through the program attempt breastfeeding, half of whom are still breastfeeding at 6 months.  Six in 10 expectant mothers in the program also eat more fruits and vegetables, and about half drink more water and report an increase in perinatal knowledge.

Learn more about the program and its impact here.

Access to care for the uninsured 

Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut supports maternal and child health through an array of initiatives in the hospital and community. Its Me & My Baby program gave more than 300 uninsured and mostly undocumented mothers access to prenatal and pediatric care in 2016, while its Pediatric Dental Center treated more than 15,000 children with special dentistry needs or severe disabilities. The hospital’s Healthy Start program has provided free labor, delivery and related services to more than 8,000 infants since 2002.

For more on the initiatives and their impact, click here.

Preventing premature births through education and community building 

Greenville (S.C.) Health System partnered with the March of Dimes and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to offer prenatal care across the state. The CenteringPregnancy program has engaged and empowered more than 5,600 women through health assessments, interactive learning and community-building activities, preventing 254 low-birthweight and 224 premature births while saving $17 million on neonatal intensive care unit admissions.

Learn more about the details of the program here.