You are Invited!

To learn more about Prenatal Care in groups. Portsmouth's exciting new approach to Prenatal Care. Join us for an Open House, Thursday August 19, 2010 2:00- 4:00 pm at the Portsmouth Health Department (side entrance)
RSVP to Zimone at 446-5017

New Centering Pregnancy site on the Peninsula ready to schedule patients

Beginning in early September, Riverside Family Medicine Residency will be offering Centering Pregnancy to its maternity patients. Centering Pregnancy is a new model for prenatal care. Prenatal care occurs in a group setting with 8 to 12 pregnant women and two facilitators. Physical assessment (fetal heart tones, blood pressure, weight checks) is followed by education and support. Randomized trials have shown that this unique model of prenatal care reduces the rate of preterm birth in women who participate.Women can be scheduled now for an intake appointment and for enrollment in the first group. Please encourage pregnant women who would benefit from Centering Pregnancy to phone 594-3800 and ask for Michelle Wells, RN. The first group will meet in the afternoon on Wednesday, September 8 and is for women with due dates in February and March. The next group will begin in late October for women due in March and April. New groups will begin every 6-7 weeks thereafter.For more information or for Centering brochures to distribute, please contact Liz Marshall, MPH at elizabeth.marshall@rivhs.com

A Healthy Baby begins with you

In partnership with the office of Minority health's (OMH) infant mortality awareness campaign, the Perinatal Community Health Clinical Group of ODU school of nursing is planning a Health Fair. The event is free of charge and is open to all family members, but there will be a special effort to provide African American women of childbearing age with information about the "10 steps to Having a Healthier Baby". It will take place on April 26 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, at the Young Terrace Community Center, 804 Whitaker Lane in Norfolk. For more information please contact Mary Ann Notarianni at mnotaria@odu.edu

Disaster Preparedness – Urgent Needs of Pregnant Women and Their At-Risk Infants”

Conference sponsored by the Virginia March of Dimes and Old Dominion University
Date, Time and Location: The conference will be held Saturday, May 3, 2008 from 9am till 3pm with continental breakfast and lunch provided. The conference will be held at VMASC (Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center), 1030 University Blvd, Suffolk, VA.
Please contact one of the conference organizers listed below so that we have an accurate head-count for the conference. We request that you sign-up by Monday, April 21, 2008 so that arrangements can be made for lunch.
Dr Christopher Osgood, Dept. Biological Sciences, ODU: cosgood@odu.edu
Dr Kate Ferguson, Office of Research, ODU:kferguso@odu.edu

Teen Births Up for First Time in a Decade and a Half

The teen birth rate in the United States has been on the decline since a recent peak in 1991, but preliminary data for 2006 show a rise of 3 percent in teen births between 2005 and 2006. "It's way too early to know if this is the start of a new trend," said Stephanie Ventura, head of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "But given the long-term progress we've witnessed, this change is notable." The findings, based on data from over 99 percent of all 2006 births in the United States, are featured in a new CDC National Center for Health Statistics report, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2006."
Read the full article at:http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/07newsreleases/teenbirth.htm

Plan First - Virginia's New Family Planning Program

Plan First, Virginia's new Family Planning program began January 1, 2008. The program is open to men and women who earn less than or equal to 133% of the federal poverty level - or $1,132 monthly income for an individual. Individuals who have comprehensive health care coverage or have had a sterilization procedure are excluded from this program.

For additional questions on what is covered and how do you enroll, please contact Ashley Barton, Maternal and Child Health Coordinator, at (804) 371-7824.

The Stork's Nest

The Stork's Nest is a national project for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. in conjunction with the March of Dimes. The goal of this project is to encourage low income mothers to get pre/post-natal care. Participants in this program can earn points by attending educational sessions and keeping all appointments such as doctors and/or clinic, WIC, and Social Services. Points may be exchanged for baby items to include clothes, papers, and other baby essentials. The educational component to the Stork's Nest provides women with valuable information to have a healthy baby. Workshops such as proper eating during pregnancy, essential vitamins, breastfeeding, warning signs, genetic diseases, preparing the home for the baby, what to expect after the infant is born, and other topics are offered.

Beta Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. has partnered with the South Norfolk Health Center to offer the Stork’s Nest program. For more information, contact Ms. Stevalynn Adams, Stork’s Nest Chair at 757-823-2658. The location of the Stork’s Nest Office is:

Stork's Nest
South Norfolk Health Center
490 Liberty Street
Chesapeake, VA
(757) 382-2600..for more info, call 823-2658