Northern New Jersey Maternal/ Child Health Consortium (NNJMCHC)

In New Jersey, one of every six African American babies is born too soon. African American women of all socio economic groups have a greater risk of having a premature infant and three more likely have an infant die than white women.  Reducing racial disparities in birth outcomes has been a focus of our Community Grant Program.  The New Jersey Chapter awarded NNJMCHC $50,000 to develop an educational DVD for pregnant African American women.  The DVD will focus on risk reduction strategies for preventing preterm birth and Black Infant mortality.  The DVD will be distributed to at least 1000 women by home visitation programs and to 50 prenatal care providers who will show it in their waiting rooms. 

There are few resources that explain the racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes to mothers to be.  A DVD was chosen because most households have a DVD player and young women are more likely to access the health messages through this method of delivery.  Footage of women participating in the March of Dimes programs “Body and Soul” and “Centering Pregnancy” will be included to show activities designed to reduce racial disparities.  Topics will include prenatal and postnatal care and the period in between pregnancies. A minority moderator will interview experts and make the point that pregnancy outcomes are a shared responsibility between a woman and her provider.

There will be an evaluation component of the project which will measure knowledge gained after viewing and also survey women to improve the program.