Prenatal visits are important for the health of both infant and mother. Healthcare providers can educate mothers on important health issues, such as their diet and nutrition, exercise, immunizations, weight gain, and abstaining from drugs and alcohol. Health professionals also have an opportunity to instruct expecting parents on nutrition for their newborn, the benefits of breastfeeding,and injury and illness prevention, as well as monitor for health-compromising conditions, and help them prepare for the new emotional challenges of caring for an infant. Mothers who receive late (or no prenatal care are more likely to have babies with health problems. Mothers who do not receive prenatal care are three times more likely to give birth to a low-weight baby, and their baby is five times more likely to die. Prenatal care does not always address, and may not be as effective among, women with specific social and medical risks. (Child Trends Databank, 2016)

Return on Investment 

• Average length of stay to the NICU is 13.2 days. Average cost of a NICU admission is $76,000 with charges exceeding $280,000 for infants born prior to 32 weeks gestation
• Intensive prenatal care reduces hospital and NICU admissions among infants, resulting in cost savings ranging from $1,768 to $5,560 per birth.

Source: March of Dimes

Factors pushing up on the data

• FT employment hard to come by, PT employment doesn't provide benefits
• Not enough awareness about the importance of PN care
• High teenage pregnancy rates
• ISDs don't offer health classes, so young adults are uninformed
• Not enough providers in the area
  • Even more difficult when the individual has HC coverage through Medicaid
• Substance abuse issues
• Transportation barriers
• When mothers have older children to care for, very difficult to participate in appointment
• For those who are self-employed, insurance provides limited options

Factors pushing up on the data

• Free transportation for Medicaid recipient
• Access to women's Medicaid
• Lots of health fairs happening across Nueces County
• Good data to support the importance of prenatal care
• Lots of community resources
• Home Visiting programs

• March of Dimes
• Health and Human Services Commission
• Nurse Family Partnership/Parents as Teachers/HOPES
• COADA
• Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation
• WIC
• MCOs
• WAMHS
• Faith-based community
• Texas A&M Corpus Christi
• Agri Life Extension Service
• Nueces County Health Department
• South Texas Family Planning
• City Indigent Program
• Corpus Christi ISD
• Hope House
• BCFS
• TEA

Evidence-Based Practices

• Implement evidence-based practices that engage families in their home to promote prenatal health
  • NFP
  • PAT
  • HOPES
  • Project Link
  • Early Head Start Home-Based Visiting

Promising Practices

• Provide prenatal health support through safety net services
  • WIC
• Provide targeted communication about prenatal health through the network or non-profit organizations
• Leverage the capacity of Promotoras already providing information and outreach services to the community
• Focus on education and medical treatment for pregnant women with gestational diabetes to reduce the number of premature births

Low Cost/No Cost Solutions

• Identify and collaborate with existing efforts to promote prenatal care
• Strengthen existing partnerships to also begin to focus on championing prenatal health
  • E.g., HEB, Wal Mart, or CVS
• Expand the presence of the Success by Six coalition
• Engage Nueces County Medical Society Health Fair to include SB6 RBA as a learning track

Off the Wall Thinking

• Ads promoting prenatal health in bathroom doors
• Pregnancy tests in clubs
• SB6 researches what works

Prioritized Strategy: Increase awareness about the importance of prenatal care through education and training

Action Steps:

1. Support the March of Dimes Campaign- November 

2. Success By 6 Campaign- February 

    Drive thru information give away at Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation and MCH

    Media  

3. Importance of Dental care (duration +2 mos)

        ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​- Educate dentists

        -Incorporate in prenatal education classes

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​        -List of dentists who take Medicaid, Coverage dependent on health plan; Train the Trainer TX Oral Health Coalition has the tool

Prioritized Strategy: Increase the number of women accessing home visiting services for prenatal care

Action Steps:

1. Provide awareness of home visiting programs through advertisement, public service announcements, social media 
2. Current home visiting programs reach full capacity 
3. Increase number of referring agencies to home visiting programs/educate community agencies on home visiting 
4. Educate physicians on benefits of partnering with and referring to HV programs 
5. Search for grants, foundation awards, etc. to increase funding to provide more home visiting services

Prioritized Strategy: Improve the coordination of prenatal care resources from regional providers to pregnant women

Action Steps:

1. BHSST and CADACB- Project Link/ PPI , Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation -2 coalitions/programs; Ask for time on the agenda 
2. Collaborate between WIC and other agencies (ie. CB Teen Pregnancy)
3. Public School Pregnancy Programs- coordinate thru Region 2 Service Center 
4. Pre-meeting for committee of various coalitions and organizations working on prenatal care
5. Convene all organizations with promotoras (ie. Christus Spohn, TAMU Colonias Program, CC Public Health) to coordinate prenatal referrals share knowledge of resources