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Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program
Page contents: Overview | Services provided | Access to the program | Evaluation of the program | Workforce support | Resources | Further information
Overview
The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program aims to reduce the burden of chronic disease by addressing maternal risk behaviours and providing support during pregnancy.
The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program targets pregnant women who are unable to access antenatal care services or require additional support because of their socioeconomic status, culturally and linguistically diverse background, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, age or residential distance to services.
The program operates in the outer growth suburbs of Melbourne that have high numbers of births, higher rates of relative socioeconomic disadvantage and lower service accessibility.The program has been funded until July 2014.
Services provided
The overarching aim of the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program is to improve the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies by:
- Facilitating access to antenatal, postnatal and other health and human services;
- Supporting women throughout their pregnancy, and
- Delivering key health promotion messages that enable healthy behaviours in pregnancy and beyond.
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program is not a clinical antenatal care service. The programs activities complement existing services by linking women into services early, providing additional community based support that is beyond the capacity of current services, and promoting a continuum of care for the woman through strong collaboration with maternity and maternal and child health services.
Access to the program
The program operates in Community Health Services (CHSs) in eight local government areas.
These are:
Women can access the program through:
- Outreach from CHSs
- Self referral or
- Referral from:
- General Practitioners
- Maternity services
- Maternal and Child Health
- Other local services such as Mental Health Services, Drug and Alcohol Services, Housing Services.
To make a referral to the program contact participating agencies.
Evaluation of the program
An evaluation of the program by HDG Consulting was completed in August 2011.. A literature review undertaken as part of the evaluation is available in the resource section below.
Workforce support
The Bouverie Centre, at La Trobe University has been funded to provide additional workforce support to clinicians providing Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. Further information is available at http://www.bouverie.org.au/programs/community-services-team/healthy-mothers-healthy-babies-workforce-support
Resources
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies contacts list March 2012
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Program Information Sheet October 2012
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Literature Review 2011
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Program Description October 2012
Service model for Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies program (27kb, pdf)
Further information
Contact information for further queries.
