2-1-1 San Diego and March of Dimes Partner to Educate Post-Partum Women About the Health of their Babies
San Diego County CA— A new partnership with March of Dimes through a community grant of $45,000 will allow for 2-1-1 San Diego Health Navigators to check in with new mothers six weeks following the birth of their child asking “One Key Question”®, an initiative created by the Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health with the goal to educate families about birth spacing and risks of associated with short pregnancy intervals while offering referrals for support services that educate and empower women to make informed decisions about their family planning.
John Ohanian, President & CEO of 2-1-1 San Diego, explains that this aligns with 2-1-1 San Diego’s mission. “2-1-1 San Diego has been providing health navigation services for six years,” said Ohanian. “Seventy percent of our callers are women, and this partnership provides the opportunity to advance health outcomes through education and connection to resources. We’re proud to partner with March of Dimes to help women access information vital to their health and the health of their children.”
“We know we can make a difference in the lives of babies and their moms when we provide funds to community-based or statewide projects that have the potential to improve birth outcomes and reduce premature birth rates, especially among high-risk groups,” said Kelly Ernst, MPH March of Dimes Vice President of Maternal Child Health. “Fully one-third of all pregnancies in the U.S. occur less than 18 months after the birth of a child, which is a known risk factor for preterm birth. Ensuring that more women wait at least 18 months between giving birth and getting pregnant again can help reduce preterm birth rates. The March of Dimes has invested in community programs for more than 70 years. While we proudly fund innovative research in many of California’s leading educational institutions, research to develop new interventions takes time. Our community programs can ensure that known evidence-based interventions are made available to women right now to improve birth outcomes.”
About 2-1-1 San Diego
The mission of 2-1-1 San Diego is to serve as a nexus to bring the community (organizations) together to help people efficiently access appropriate services, and provide vital data and trend information for proactive community planning. As a trusted, local, nonprofit organization with connection to over 6,000 community, health, and disaster services, we provide a free, 24 hour, confidential phone service in 200+ languages and a searchable online database. We work closely with our County and other local resources to connect you, your family, and other residents to community-wide service organizations that focus on health, food, housing, disaster, veterans, and other specialized needs. For more information, please visit at www.211sandiego.org.
About March of Dimes
Each year nearly 4,000,000 babies are born in the United States, and March of Dimes touches each one of them through community programs, advocacy, research, education, and support. March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Premature birth and its complications are now the leading global cause of death for children under 5 years old. Premature birth costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.org or for resources in Spanish, nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Educational video resources are available on our YouTube channel.