Through the Maternal and Infant Community Health Collaborative (MICHC) initiative, Mohawk Valley Perinatal Network is working to improve maternal and infant health outcomes for high-need, low income women and their families. Key priority outcomes include reducing:
- Preterm Births, births occurring before 37 weeks gestation (of pregnancy);
- Low Birth Weight, an infant weighing less than 2,500 grams at birth;
- Infant Mortality, an infant death from the time of birth until the day of the infant’s first birthday; and
- Maternal Mortality, death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, due to complications of the pregnancy.
The Perinatal Network is collaborating with community partners to implement strategies to:
- Find and engage high-need women and their families in health insurance, health care and other needed community services, such as mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence;
- Assess the woman’s needs and make referrals to services to address those needs;
- Coordinate services across community programs; and
- Promote opportunities for women and families to engage in healthy behaviors.
MICHC strategies and activities address maternal and infant health behaviors across the life course…
- Preconception: staying healthy before pregnancy, whether or not a pregnancy is planned.
- Prenatal: staying healthy during pregnancy.
- Postpartum: staying healthy just after birth.
- Interconception: staying healthy between pregnancies;
…and at multiple levels:
- Individual/Family: using Community Health Workers to assist women and their families to access needed health and social services.
- Community: working to improve community conditions and opportunities that make it easier for people to make healthy choices.
- Organizational: working with health and social service agencies and other community organizations to promote healthy behaviors and improve access to resources and services.