Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama Funds Launch of March of Dimes’ First Alabama Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center
By Sheila Duncan
Reporter
March of Dimes believes that every mom and baby deserves to be healthy, no matter their background or where they live. The U.S. is still one of the riskiest places for childbirth, especially for families of color. With the help of supporters, they provide research, programs, and advocacy to support parents through their pregnancies. To enhance maternal and infant health outcomes in Alabama, especially in rural areas, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is partnering with the March of Dimes to introduce the state’s first Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center.
Funded by BCBSAL, this mobile health center will be the first of its kind by the March of Dimes in Alabama. It will provide essential maternal programs, including support, education, and healthcare services, to mothers and expectant mothers in rural communities. The center aims to bridge access gaps by offering pre-conception, pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care, along with primary, wellness, and preventive services.
The March of Dimes recently published a report titled Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US. Maternity care deserts are counties without access to birthing hospitals, birth centers with obstetric care, or obstetric providers.
Key findings for Alabama counties include:
- 58% have little to no access to maternal care.
- 37.3% lack an obstetric clinician.
- 14.9% have only one obstetric clinician.
- 7,300 babies live in maternity care deserts.
- 12.2% of women of childbearing age live in areas with no access to care.
The mobile unit aims to launch next Fall and will look to serve the following areas and its surrounding counties: Florence, Selma, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Anniston, and Montgomery.
“March of Dimes is there for families throughout their pregnancies, even when access to high-quality care is out of reach,” said Ashley Toms, Executive Director, March of Dimes. “We are uniquely positioned through purpose-driven partnerships, like with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, to serve people in underserved communities. Our Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center aims to improve birth outcomes by addressing access to care and social drivers of health, while providing wraparound clinical and community services, like nutrition, mental health, housing, and more. The Center will facilitate partnerships across multiple sectors in order to meet women and families in their communities, minimizing barriers to accessing care.”
(source BCBS , MD)
