In 2007, we are providing community grant funds to the following projects:

Christiana Neonatal Associates -   This project addresses the priority of enhanced preconception / inter-conception education and support services for women at high risk due to previous poor birth outcomes. The target audience is women who have a preterm infant (< 37 weeks) in the NICU at Christiana Care Health System in Newark. The NICU at CCHS has over 1100 admissions per year. Women who deliver preterm infants will be identified and will undergo a risk assessment for premature birth. The goal is to enroll 416 patients over a 1 year period. The risk assessment will include known risk factors for premature birth. Once a woman’s risk has been assessed, education and recommendations for risk reduction will be made. Recommendations may include the development of a reproductive life plan, smoking cessation, nutritional counseling, or improved diabetes management. Program evaluation will include the number of patients enrolled, numbers of risk factors identified, and number of intervention referrals made. Participating women will receive follow up phone call 6 months and 1 year following enrollment in the program. The follow- up phone calls will assess compliance with suggested compliance with suggested intervention and any subsequent premature birth.

University of Delaware: Department of Nursing -  This project is a comprehensive program that focuses on preconception health by providing risk screening, support and education to young adult woman of childbearing age. The program is also designed to increase awareness of the importance of preconception health in the prevention of infant mortality and morbidity. Preconception health has been proposed as an effective way to decrease rates of prematurity and low birth weight and to enhance positive pregnancy outcome. The program will be piloted with young women at the University of Delaware who are vulnerable to poor pregnancy outcomes due to risky health behaviors that may be compounded by unintended pregnancies. A CD-ROM educational program will address the risks to preconception health. Following the viewing of the CD-ROM, student peer mentors will guide a discussion and complete an assessment of each woman’s health risk and access to primary health care, providing referrals as necessary. A Guide to Reproductive Planning will be developed for use during the educational program to encourage participants to establish a personal reproduction life plan. To further increase awareness of the need for preconception health, brochures about preconception health will be developed for health care providers and young women and distributed to primary care providers throughout the state. A comprehensive evaluation plan will determine program impacts, changes in knowledge, attitude, and behaviors.