Spotlight: Maternal and child health

Community doulas provide culturally matched maternity care, lowering cesarean rates

Community doulas provide culturally and linguistically matched birth doula services for InterCommunity Health Network members. The program’s cesarean rate is 13.8%, far lower than the national average of 32%. Read the full story

New Day Program supports high-risk pregnancies, keeps babies out of the NICU

Umpqua Health’s New Day Program supports members who are pregnant and experiencing risk factors like substance use, housing issues or behavioral health needs. Since August 2017, New Day has prevented 60 babies from needing intensive care, saving up to $3.6 million. Read the full story

Help Me Grow: A building block toward a Ready + Resilient community

Help Me Grow is one piece of Health Share of Oregon’s strategic plan to support early life health. The model creates a system of collaboration across early childhood and health sectors to ensure children at risk for developmental delay receive the services they need. Learn more about the model

Klamath community baby shower provides gifts and resources to prepare new parents

In October 2018, the Klamath Falls community held a baby shower for pregnant women and parents of infants. About 350 people attended, winning raffle prizes and learning about health resources in a fun environment. Read the full story

Featured in upcoming webinars:

Jackson Care Connect incentivizes members for key perinatal health activities, increases preventive care

Starting Strong is an incentive program for members who are pregnant or parenting, and children ages 0-4. Participation is linked to increased primary care visits, childhood immunizations and developmental screening. Learn how the program works

Perinatal care coordinators connect women to health services in Central Oregon

In Central Oregon, perinatal care coordinators are embedded in local public health departments and obstetrics clinics. They aim to identify all pregnant women early in pregnancy and connect them to services to improve health outcomes. Read the full story

Postpartum care online learning community

To learn more about strategies to improve the timeliness of postpartum care, check out the Transformation Center's spring online learning community series.

Health in the earliest years of life — starting with a mother’s health before pregnancy — has lifelong impacts on well-being.

Investing in maternal and child health is a proven strategy to improve health outcomes and contain health care costs, and it is also a key opportunity for preventing adverse childhood experiences and addressing racial and socioeconomic disparities in both access and outcomes.

Key statewide policy efforts are building momentum for this crucial work. Governor Brown’s Children’s Agenda prioritizes addressing homelessness for families with children, access to high-quality childcare and preschool, and employment supports for parents. The agenda also seeks to ensure 100 percent of Oregon’s children have health care coverage. The next CCO five-year contracts include a strong focus on children’s behavioral health and addressing the social determinants of health and health equity. Additionally, the Oregon Health Policy Board has made children’s health one of its three priority areas.

Along with these critical policy initiatives, CCOs and other health partners are driving innovative local work to support pregnant women and families with young children. Be sure to read about some of them here!