10 THE VALUE OF HEALTHY BABIES, A PERINATAL SERVICE PROGRAM, IN FACILITATING HEALTHY PREGNANCIES AND HEALTHY DELIVERIES. (1st January 2005)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Eghbalieh, S. D.D.; Moskowitz, R. M.; Eghbalieh, N.; Paul, E. K.; Gharavi, N. M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of investigative medicine. Volume 53:Number 1(2005)
• Page Start: S79
• Page End: S79
• Publication Date: 2005-01-01
• Subjects: Clinical medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Research -- Periodicals; Medicine; Research -- United States; Clinical medicine; Medicine -- Research; Periodicals; 616.075
• DOI: 10.2310/6650.2005.00005.9
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1081-5589

Abstract

Abstract : Perinatal services play an important role in facilitating healthy pregnancies and healthy deliveries. Healthy Babies (HB) is a system-wide provider of coordinated, quality perinatal services, developed by Community Outreach for Prevention and Education (COPE) for Medi-Cal patients who chose to deliver at the Citrus Valley Health Partners' (CVHP), Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Covina, CA. This program includes a wide variety of health education courses and supportive nursing staff for clients to participate in. Master level health educators instruct clients on nutrition, infant development, preparation for labor and delivery, newborn characteristics, family planning, SIDS, infant safety and breast-feeding basics. In this study, a comparison was made between Medi-Cal HB, Medi-Cal non-HB (NHB), and commercial healthcare providers (C) in terms of newborns' gestational term, birth weight, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay, and breast-feeding. Among HB newborns, 11% were considered preterm, whereas NHB and C had 12% and 15% preterm deliveries, respectively. Medi-Cal HB had 7% low birth weight compared to 8% for NHB and 6% for C. Average NICU stay for HB, NHB, and C were 11.3, 14.5 and 14.6 days, respectively. Breast Feeding for HB, NHB and C were 47%, 28% and 36%, respectively. In conclusion, Medi-Cal HB is a valuable program for facilitating healthy pregnancies and healthy deliveries, and may provide as a helpful model for healthcare providers. The program demonstrated optimal results in all variables studied.