A Healthy Start Against Birth Defects

Health Department Program Aids Mothers-to-be

The numbers are large -- on an average day in the United States, 411 babies are born with a birth defect, conditions accounting for more than 20% of all American infant deaths in 1990, or an average of 19 a day. Further, 144 babies are born every day with what the government considers a "very low birth weight". And tragically, on an average day in America 87 babies die before reaching their first birthday.

Healthy Start is well aware of these numbers. A unique program geared to the pregnant woman and following all through the infant’s first year of life, Healthy Start encourages behaviors designed to enhance the health of the unborn, the mother and the newborn. "Teens and women over 35 are at the highest risk for birth defects," says Mary Hutton, RN, SCHN, of the Lee County Health Department, which operates the program. "Of the two groups, teens are generally at higher risk – particularly for having malnourished babies and being malnourished themselves… they eat so much junk food."

Choices a woman makes at the very beginning of her pregnancy are important for both her own and the unborn child’s future health. At a woman’s first prenatal appointment with her doctor, she should request or be asked to give permission for a Healthy Start prenatal Risk Screening. Together with her health care provider and the answers to a short questionnaire, she’ll explore her diet, general health and everyday activities for anything that could cause problems for her baby. Qualifying for Healthy Start services is based on a scoring of these results, but all mothers-to-be or new mothers are free to ask to talk to a Healthy Start Coordinator.

If a mother-to-be chooses Healthy Start, a Care Coordinator will contact her and assist with finding any needed help locally. Healthy Start services available vary by community, but often include home visits, childbirth education classes, nutritional counseling, breastfeeding education and smoking cessation classes.

After the baby is born, give your health care provider permission for a Healthy Start Infant Risk Screening to find anything that could affect your baby’s growth and development throughout the first year of life.

Any woman living in Florida and either pregnant or having a baby under one year of age can participate in the Lee County Health Department’s Healthy Start Program. Income and immigration status do not matter. Prenatal and Infant Screenings are free, and most services are either free or very low cost. Call Virginia Little, RN, Health Start Coordinator, at (239) 332-9593 and give your baby a Healthy Start!