Zeneyda Alfaro, Project Director
zalfaro@spannj.org
973-642-8100 x 107
Funded by the NJ Department of Health (NJ DOH)
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SPAN’s Mission and Vision
SPAN’s Activities
Essex County Improving Pregnancy Outcomes
Project (Essex IPO)
◦ Essex IPO’s Goals
◦ Target population
◦ Delivery of Services
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Healthy Families Community of Care Council
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Goal
Objectives
Structure
Calendar meetings
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25 year old, independent, 501(c)3 organization
committed to empowering families as advocates
and partners in improving education and health
outcomes for infants, toddlers, children & youth.
Houses the PTI, F2F, Family Voices State Affiliate,
chapter of FFCMH, Statewide Parent to Parent
Program, Military Family 360 Project, Family
WRAP & Superstorm Sandy Resiliency Project,
Partners for Prevention, among others
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Our vision is that all New Jersey families will have the
resources and support they need to ensure that their
children become fully participating and contributing
members of our communities and society.
Our mission is to empower and support families and inform
and involve professionals interested in the healthy
development and education of children and youth.
Our values are equity, effectiveness, & engagement
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Our focus is on the whole child and family, including
education, health and mental health, human services,
child care, and child welfare/prevention.
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Our foremost commitment is to children and families
with the greatest need due to disability or special
health/mental health needs; poverty; discrimination
based on race, sex, language, immigrant or homeless
status; involvement in the foster care, child welfare, or
juvenile justice systems; geographic location; or other
special circumstances.
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We provide:
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Information
Parent & Professional Development
Technical assistance
Parent-to-Parent/Family-to-Family Support
Leadership Development/Capacity Building
Advocacy
In the past year we have expanded our work to not only
support parents who already have children, but also to
help improve pregnancy outcomes and prevent birth
defects and developmental disabilities.
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Funded by the NJ Department
of Health
Focus:
◦ Target underserved women in
Essex County
◦ Connect women to services
and supports to improve
preconception, prenatal, and
interconception care with the
goal of reducing pre-term
birth, low birth weight, and
infant mortality rates
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Target communities with the greatest need :
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Communities of color
Immigrant and limited English proficient communities
Low-income communities
Women with chronic and acute physical and mental health
conditions
◦ Uninsured women
◦ Women with multiple social or economic stressors.
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Link women to medical providers for preconception,
interconception and prenatal care
Refer and provide one on one assistance to help
women and their families utilize services
Recruit, train, support and provide stipends to 10
women from identified communities to provide
peer-to-peer support groups, and inform our work
on an ongoing basis.
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The target population is underserved women of
childbearing age, in Essex County, with a special
focus on the high-risk communities of East Orange,
Irvington, Newark, and Orange.
Each of the selected communities is in the top ten of
the state’s Priority High-Risk Municipality based on
NJ Population Perinatal Risk Index of of 146
municipalities assessed.
Perinatal Risk Ranking based on 146 Municipalities
Risk
Index
Low Birth
Weight
Preterm
Birth
PNC not in
1st
Trimester
East
Orange
1
1
1
5
1
Irvington
3
3
3
2
2
Newark
5
6
4
4
5
Orange
9
6
8
1
4
Perinatal Mortality
http://www.state.nj.us/health/fhs/professional/documents/pra_report.pdf
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Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System is a
surveillance system of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health
departments.
PRAMS collects state-specific, population-based
data on maternal health before, during, and shortly
after pregnancy
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PRA is a risk assessment conducted during pregnancy to
identify women who are at high risk for fetal or infant
death or infant morbidity. The goal of this risk
assessment is to prevent or treat conditions related to
poor pregnancy outcome, and to connect or link to
appropriate services and resources through referral. (2)
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The IPO CHW’s will use the PRA with non pregnant
women of child bearing age as well, in order to identify
risk factors and refer to appropriate services.
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Preconception health: Being as healthy as possible
before becoming pregnant or planning for a
pregnancy can improve the likelihood of having a
healthy baby. This is a period where risk factors can
be identified and treated before planning to get
pregnant.
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Interconception is the time between the end of one
pregnancy and the beginning of the next one.
It is also a time to find those women who are at risk for
poor birth outcome. This includes women who had a low
birth weight baby, who had a miscarriage or a stillbirth, or
who had a baby born with birth defects.
The goal of interconception care is to take steps to improve
the outcome for the next pregnancy; or being as healthy as
possible by preparing the body for the next unborn child.
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Prenatal care is the health care a pregnant woman
receives. It includes checkups and prenatal testing.
It lets health care providers detect health problems
early. Early treatment can address many health
issues and prevent others. Through prenatal care
risk factors are identified and steps are taken to a
healthy pregnancy.
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About half (51%) of the 6.6 million pregnancies in the United States
each year are unintended
Unintended pregnancy rates are highest among poor and low-income
women, women aged 18–24, cohabiting women and minority women
Births resulting from unintended or closely spaced pregnancies are
associated with adverse maternal and child health outcomes, such as
delayed prenatal care, premature birth and negative physical and
mental health effects for children
In NJ, 54% of all pregnancies in 2008, (106,000) were unintended
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Births to teenagers are at higher risk of low birth weight and preterm
birth, and death in infancy, compared with babies born to women in
their twenties and older
Childbearing during adolescence negatively affects the parents, their
children, and society
In 2012, just over 305,000 babies were born to teen girls between the
ages of 15 and 19
The teen pregnancy rate in New Jersey was 62 per 1,000 women aged
15-19 in 2008
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We will:
◦ Take action even before a woman of reproductive age gets
pregnant
◦ Connect women and their families to appropriate services
in the community
◦ Work in partnership with direct service providers
(hospitals, doctors, community organizations, schools)
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We need your help!