The moment you learn you are pregnant, quality prenatal care is vital to ensuring the continued health of both you and your unborn child throughout the next nine months.
Healthy Beginnings Plus, sponsored by Adagio Health and operated through Uniontown Hospital and Fayette Home Care and Hospice, is a very special service that is open to you if you are a Medicaid recipient. It is available through two Ob/Gyn practices in Fayette County.
Once you are enrolled in Healthy Beginnings Plus, either by a care coordinator at one of the participating doctors' offices or by the Family Health Council, you will be visited from one to three times during your pregnancy by a Fayette Home Care and Hospice prenatal home nurse.
On the first visit, he or she will assess your home to determine what you need to do to increase your chances of delivering a healthy, full-term baby. Parenting classes, either at home or through WIC, can be scheduled at this time. During subsequent visits, your nurse may also recommend psychosocial counseling, nutritional counseling and prenatal risk counseling that can be scheduled through your care coordinator.
And the care doesn't end when your little one is born. Four to six weeks after delivery, your nurse will stop by again to see how your family is adapting to its newest member. If your nurse feels you could benefit from further counseling or parenting help, he or she will recommend it at this time.
Maternal Early Discharge Program
With the end of your pregnancy comes the beginning of that wonderful new experience called motherhood. But in the early days, coping with a new infant in the house can be a daunting endeavor for even the most well-prepared parents. This is especially true when homecoming is just 24-48 hours after the baby is born.
The Maternal Early Discharge Program at Uniontown Hospital is helping to ease the transition from hospital to home by scheduling a visit from a hospital nurse during the first week following delivery. "We want new moms and their babies to have continuity by seeing one of the nurses from the department," explains Bertha Sproul, Director of Patient Care Services, Family Beginnings Birthing Center. "That's why all the nurses who are part of this program are Uniontown Hospital labor and delivery nurses."
The first weeks after delivery are a critical time for the mother. Infection can set in or other problems might develop, such as fever, bleeding, urinary tract infections or breastfeeding issues. And as for the baby, MED Program nurses will be looking for signs of jaundice, weight loss, heart disease or other warning signals. In addition, they will teach parents about proper circumcision or umbilical cord care, breastfeeding techniques, immunizations, car seat use and other basics.
Return to LEARN MORE: Obstetrics/Gynecology
