Montefiore Health System announced Thursday that it will receive a $5.4 million grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support maternal health and social services for Bronx families through its Bronx Healthy Start Partnership.
The grant will fund a group prenatal care program called CenteringPregnancy, which will be available at three Montefiore locations where expectant mothers engage with medical providers and their peers.
“This grant renewal allows us to launch new efforts, focused on families with complex needs, increasing their face time with medical providers and forging meaningful relationships with their peers,” said Alma Idehen, co-director, Bronx Healthy Start Partnership at Einstein and Principal Associate, Department of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore.
Expectant moms in the CenteringPregnancy program learn self-care and stress management techniques and information on the delivery process, breastfeeding and infant care. They also spend extra time with providers getting prenatal check-ups, according to the program’s website.
“The Bronx Healthy Start Partnership and my community health worker Tabitha have been amazing assets to me as a first-time mom,” said Bronx resident Ivonne, who did not provide her last name. “From doing educational workshops, and learning about guided meditation for stress management, to accessing necessities like a travel crib and diapers, the Bronx Healthy Start Partnership has helped me to be a healthy and prepared parent.”
The Bronx Healthy Start Partnership is a community program that aims to tackle issues affecting Bronx families like poor maternal health, low infant birth rate and prematurity. It has organized a discourse among patients, elected officials, experts and the community with the goal of reducing infant and maternal mortality in the Bronx, according to Montefiore.
The infant mortality rate in Bronx County is higher than the city and state-wide infant mortality rate. In the Bronx 5.2 infants out of every 100,000 will die before their first birthday compared to 3.2 at the city level and 4.2 at the state level, according to State Department of Health Data. Disparities become even more pronounced at the neighborhood level. The Bronx Healthy Start Program targeted four Community Districts that each had infant mortality rates of over 10 per 1,000 births from 2007 – 2009, according to its website.
- Concourse/Highbridge (CD 4)
- University/Morris Heights (CD 5)
- Fordham (CD 7)
- Pelham Parkway (CD 11)
Prenatal and maternal care has been a priority for Montefiore Health System for years. Montefiore Einstein’s Weiler Campus announced last month its re-designation as a Baby-Friendly Hospital, a designation recognizing hospitals worldwide that provide top notch care to babies and mothers who are breastfeeding. The hospital was first awarded its designation in 2017 along with Montefiore Wakefield, making it the only hospital system in the city to have two Baby-Friendly hospitals.
Paula Ferrante, Registered Nurse and lactation consultant with over 30 years of experience at Montefiore in the Bronx, spoke about the rigorous process.
“It was not an easy journey,” Ferrante said. “It was a good three year journey the first time around. As they say, with change you have to take baby steps, and we certainly did take baby steps because it was a change of culture in everything we did.”
Expectant mothers in the Bronx looking for hospitals that are recognized for enhanced maternal and infant care can visit Baby Friendly USA to find a designated hospital near them.
