To address the gap in access to high-quality, culturally competent prenatal care, PPSNE is launching a new initiative called Choices in Childbirth for patients looking to continue their pregnancy.
PPSNE has been caring for generations of families in our communities, making our health centers the place people trust when they need a pregnancy test or ultrasound. This means our health centers are often the first place that people find out they are pregnant and our teams are the first to counsel them about their options for a new pregnancy. Choices in Childbirth will help expectant parents connect with prenatal care that aligns with their medical needs and values, with a focus on reducing racial disparities in maternal health outcomes.
Choices in Childbirth is designed to expand beyond medical care alone, with a goal to enhance patients overall well-being during pregnancy through a range of online programs, including childbirth education, prenatal yoga classes, pregnancy support groups, and more. The program will offer patients the ability to connect directly with a prenatal “connector” from our partner organization, JustBirth Space, who specializes in culturally competent prenatal care, particularly for Black women. The connectors, who are often birthworkers themselves, will then help PPSNE patients identify prenatal providers, doula services, and other resources in their local communities. Choices in Childbirth is designed to shorten the time a patient waits before their first prenatal visit, decreasing their chances of negative birth outcomes. We also worked with JustBirth Space to create a dedicated website for these patients, with videos covering a range of topics from labor and birth to informed consent and knowing your rights.
“This is really groundbreaking,” said Clair Kaplan, director of Clinical Research at PPSNE. ”Prenatal services are not something, at least in my 20 year tenure at Planned Parenthood, that we've offered.”
Starting in October, four PPSNE sites will begin piloting this initiative, with the goal of expanding to all 15 health centers in the near future.
“In my 12 years working in Norwich, I have heard patients share horror stories of racism, lack of access, and feeling like they don’t have any options for prenatal care in their community,” said Jessica Davila, health center manager at PPSNE Norwich, one of the four pilot sites, “They don’t have anyone to advocate for them. I want to be an advocate for patients to know that they’re not alone.”
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Tags: maternal health, disparities, childbirth, health care equity