2018-10-17T09:01:02

(BPT) – According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), preterm birth and low birth weight account for about 17 percent of infant deaths. As a result, reducing preterm birth is a national public health priority.

This issue is particularly important in New York, where one in 11 babies is born preterm. Further, teens, women over age 35, African-American women and women with low income have a great disadvantage and are at greater risk of giving birth to preterm and low birth weight babies.

The earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of death and serious health challenges. Babies who survive may have disabilities, developmental delays and chronic conditions.

Stacey Stewart, president of the March of Dimes, stated it plainly in a recent interview: “The chance of a baby’s survival should not depend on where a baby is born, or the income, race and ethnicity of her mom.”

While prenatal health is important for any expectant mom, it can be especially critical for low-income women, many of whom receive coverage from Medicaid. The increased health risks for a low-income woman and her baby — much like other low-income populations — is often tied to social and economic factors such as lack of transportation, food or housing. As a result, WellCare Health Plans, a Medicaid provider in New York, helps connect its Medicaid members to social services through its Community Connections program. According to WellCare, the top social service requests for New York residents in 2017 included medication, financial and transportation assistance.

The March of Dimes has set a national goal of reducing preterm birth rates to 8.1 percent by 2020, but to get there, experts agree there are critical points along the journey an expectant mom must take to ensure she, and her baby, can be as healthy as possible.

Three keys to improving newborn health in New York, especially for low-income women on Medicaid:

• Improve Prenatal Care Programs: Many women start prenatal care late, or get no prenatal care at all. There are programs across the state that can help expectant moms maintain proper prenatal health habits as well as preparation for after their baby is born. The WellCare of New York team, for example, employs prenatal and pediatric specialists to work one-on-one with members to coordinate their care. Consequently, WellCare has seen a decrease in very low birthweight babies admitted to the NICU.

• Going Beyond Healthcare: It’s hard to maintain healthy behaviors during pregnancy when you don’t have a place to live or can’t get to your doctor’s appointments because of lack of transportation. By building connections between healthcare and social services, those barriers can be addressed. There are a number of social services available across the state of New York to help with social and economic barriers.

• Assistance and Support after Baby’s Birth: Women who are at high risk for preterm birth, or who have gone through preterm birth, need additional assistance. Personalized services, including in-home monitoring of the baby’s health and discharge planning to help transition from hospital to home, can help women who have a preterm newborn to manage the medical and emotional aspects and help new moms keep up with well-baby checkups and immunizations.

WellCare of New York offers a Community Connections Help Line to help connect callers with local support resources. Please call (866) 775-2192 for help where someone is available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time).