DACF Grant Supports Mom and Me Program
Arkansas Department of Health, STAR-Health Program in Desha county, celebrated a group of moms completing all requirements of the Mom and Me Program, during a Recognition Ceremony at the Desha County Health Department in Dumas, Monday, February 11, 2013, in which, moms received personal gifts and certificates of completion. These incentives were provided in part, through the Department of Health and the Delta Area Community Foundation.
Pictured, L-R; Mrs. Carolyne Blissett, County Administrator, Moms; Sherunda Evans Burgess, Trinette Miles, Jameshia Jacquess, Markisha Jones, and Linda Austin, Community Health Worker for the STAR-Health Program. Other moms completing the program, but not pictured were; Charleshia James, Alicia Ward, and Alexis Moore.
Recent research from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) shows that a baby dies before its first birthday almost every day in Arkansas – a rate of infant mortality well above the national average. This problem hits African American communities harder than other populations.
The purpose of the program is to reduce infant mortality and morbidity, and increase spacing of pregnancies to at least 18-24 months. The program provides client centered education relevant to month/week gestation and provides health education that is age-appropriate for the baby once it is born. The program promotes the Safe Sleep Campaign, where babies are placed on their backs to sleep and for naps to reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), sleeping in a separate area from the moms in safety-approved cribs, or bassinets, encouraging child-bearing women to take folic acid daily, the importance of getting the flu shots during pregnancy, and the importance of breastfeeding.