United Way MomCare Education Program

The Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade took over the administration of the MomCare Program on November 1, 2003. Since then, the Coalition has made significant improvement in the quality and number of services provided by MomCare. Clients referred to the MomCare Program are pregnant women who qualify for SOBRA, the Sixth Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. SOBRA is a special Medicaid waiver from the Federal Government that provides insurance coverage to pregnant women whose household income is between 150% and 185% of the poverty guidelines - the uninsured working poor. The United Way MomCare Education Program is an expansion of existing MomCare services and has several goals:

• increase access to maternal education services;
• increase utilization of prenatal care services;
• improve bonding with baby;
• promote breastfeeding; and,
• increase community outreach and education.

The clients served are pregnant and parenting women and their families who have been referred to the MomCare Program and are not eligible for Healthy Start. The majority of MomCare clients do not qualify for Healthy Start, since they are not at-risk. However, many of these women could still benefit from and desire parenting, breastfeeding, and childbirth education classes. The United Way MomCare Education Program serves the women who could benefit from and desire these services but are unable to pay for private classes as they have limited income.

The program curriculum is prevention based, intervention focused to reduce risk factors, and specifically designed for adult students. Topics include:

• physical and emotional changes related to pregnancy;
• danger signs of pregnancy;
• signs and symptoms of preterm labor;
• benefits of breastfeeding for both the mother and baby;
• bonding and attachment behavior;
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome risk reduction;
• child health including basic nutrition and safety information;
• building on family strengths and relationships;
• baby spacing;
• physical activity; and,
• environmental factors.

Group classes are held weekly in the evenings or on weekends to accommodate the work schedules of program participants. Classes are offered in English, Spanish and Creole as needed. Clients are provided with referrals to health care providers and their birth outcomes are monitored.