The Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition continues to initiate new programs to optimize the health of mothers, babies and families, while at the same time meeting their ever-changing needs, something the nonprofit has been doing for 30 years.
Among the programs they either initiated or expanded this year are Direct On-Scene Education, Bereavement training, Perinatal Mental Health training, the GROW Doula program and Healthy Families.
By teaching expectant mothers healthy ways of dealing with everyday stress, goal setting, connecting them with community services, educating them on the stages of growth and development of the baby, providing regular visitations, support groups and community education, families are better equipped to raise healthy, happy babies.
According to Andrea Berry, Healthy Start CEO, a Fetal and Infant Mortality Review helped shine a light on areas of concern that new families face, many of which were exacerbated by the pandemic.
Hoping to turn the tide, Healthy Start used the FIMR process “to explore what we could do to assist the families who have suffered a loss and prevent these deaths in the future,” explained Berry, adding that the evaluation led to the formation or enhancement of programs and services.
“It has given us a new way to prioritize our offerings,” said Berry.
These community-based fetal and infant mortality reviews are aimed at addressing factors and issues that affect infant mortality and morbidity, with the goal to enhance services, influence policy and direct planning efforts, ultimately lowering infant mortality rates.
Berry explained that the annual review helps to identify areas of concern, such as the rise in fetal deaths in 2020, which, according to Berry, was “due to many causations related to COVID-19 and the social determinants of health caused by the economic downturn and isolation. Our job at Healthy Start is to look at what is going on in our community and respond to it.”
As an example, she said, “one of the ways that we lose infants each year, unfortunately, is through sleep-related deaths.”
To help prevent those deaths, they instituted Direct On-Scene Education training of first responders with Indian River County Fire Rescue.
First responders who are called to a home, whether for an emergency or another reason, have a unique opportunity to observe a baby’s sleep space and can inform families how to identify and remove potential strangulation or suffocation hazards.
If they see a need, they can provide the mother with a free, safe, co-sleeping device, such as a Pack N Play, and a pamphlet demonstrating that the best way to lay a baby down to sleep is in an empty crib.
An increased need for Perinatal Mental Health – the time from pregnancy to one year after birth – was also identified.
Berry said that through the Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network, Healthy Start will host Perinatal Mental Health training for up to 150 people from across the state, with 50 of those spots being offered to local community members at no cost. If interested, contact Healthy Start to apply for a mini grant.
“Perinatal mental health is so important right now, with everything that is going on in the world,” said Berry. She noted that pregnancy, as well as all of the life changes that arise once a woman gives birth, are a lot for any new mother to deal with.
During the training, which often focuses on areas such as anxiety and depression, participants learn to identify mood and anxiety disorders, look for symptoms and diagnose issues.
Additionally, in October, the Southeast Network is sponsoring free Bereavement training through Healthy Start, to increase the number of providers and community members equipped to help families through that challenging time in their lives.
“It is so heartbreaking to go over the stories with these families that have a loss,” recalled Berry.
She noted that very few families receive counseling after losing a child. She explained that at the time, most aren’t ready for it, and that even when they are, they don’t know how to access the services available to them.
Moreover, said Berry, very few people are trained in the area of infant bereavement counseling, so the intent is to train every possible mental health provider who has an interest, so that they can either help the family directly or know where to send them to get help.
One program Berry said she is particularly proud of is the GROW Doula program, which supports, educates and empowers pregnant women to take control of their health by providing education and support prenatally, during labor and postnatally.
“A doula is someone who helps a family through prenatal, birth and postpartum periods,” Berry explained.
The GROW Doula model trains and recruits expectant mothers’ peers in those community areas with the highest rates of poor birth outcomes. Participants are trained to be doulas – two free training sessions a year are provided – and receive insurance, a uniform, a supervisor and clients. The doulas are paid for their work.
“We match the doulas with clients who have shared life experiences with them, and then they support these women through their pregnancy, birth and postpartum. When we created the program, our main goal was to not have any women laboring alone. No one should give birth alone,” Berry stressed. Since its inception, they have seen a huge reduction in cesarean, preterm birth and low-birth-rate babies.
Although the program was created in Indian River County, it has been purchased by the state, and it will be used in 16 communities before the end of this year. Healthy Start received a grant from the March of Dimes that will allow HSC to offer 100 free seats to train doulas across the state.
“We want to continue to educate our doulas. We want to make sure that they have the most recent information,” added Berry, noting that they offer a continuing education online course to doulas, on Awareness in Action Disseminating Bias in Maternal and Infant Healthcare.
While the Healthy Families abuse prevention program isn’t new, Healthy Start is once again managing it.
A study conducted by the Child and Adolescent Protection Center at Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C., indicated that the number of child abuse victims tripled nationwide in the past few years; the rise is attributed to increased stress during the pandemic.
“We have seen the same rise in abuse issues locally. This program is extremely important to our community. And, most importantly, the program works. Once a family completes the program, there are zero incidences of abuse reported to the Department of Children and Families,” said Berry.
By looking at the parents’ adverse childhood experiences, she said they can better deal with the risk of generational abusive behaviors. When the parents participate in a high-intensity, fidelity-based program, it teaches them how to become better, and loving, parents, explained Berry.
The weekly program is conducted in the home, preferably during the pregnancy. Families needing additional mental health support are connected to services through the Mental Health Collaborative.
“We couldn’t do all of this without such great funders,” said Berry.
In addition to funding from OUNCE of Prevention Florida, the Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Children and Families and Florida Department of Health, local partnering agencies include the Children’s Services Advisory Committee, Exchange Club of Indian River, Grand Harbor Community Outreach, Indian River Community Foundation, Indian River County Hospital District, John’s Island Community Service League, John’s Island Foundation, Quail Valley Charities and United Way of Indian River County.
To help raise additional funding, Healthy Start aims to bring back Dancing with Vero Stars in 2023 and is currently looking for local star dancers to help give babies a healthy start in life.
For more information, visit IRCHealthyStartCoalition.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
