Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Supports Maternal Health Across State through Grant Funding and Events
Molina Healthcare of New Mexico (“Molina”) has been on the move collaborating with local organizations to provide maternal support for communities across the state. In recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month this October, we are highlighting a recent grant and community events that aim to address gaps in access to care and health disparities related to maternal and infant health. Data shows that 33.3 percent of New Mexico counties are defined as maternal care deserts, highlighting the importance of taking a proactive approach to the health of new and expectant mothers.
Roswell and Las Cruces Baby Shower
In September, Molina hosted baby showers in Roswell and Las Cruces for about 130 attendees to provide both educational materials and baby supplies for expectant families to encourage healthy behaviors during pregnancy, inform them of organizations and available services, and equip them with basic needs for babies. Data shows that New Mexico ranks last in child welfare. In partnership with local organizations, Molina curated these events to ensure new families had the information and resources needed to prepare for new babies and make healthy healthcare and lifestyle choices.
In Roswell, we teamed up with the Eastern New Mexico Medical Center to give educational demonstrations on CPR and show the impact of shaken baby syndrome. Molina shared information around our prenatal and postpartum services. Molina collaborated with Turning Point of Las Cruces, a local maternal services organization, to provide information on services and programs available to expectant moms. For the first 50 moms to attend the Las Cruces event, Molina provided diaper bags filled with newborn essentials, including a baby bottle, bib, medicine spoon growth chart and diapers. Additionally, we held raffles at both events to give away baby supplies like story time teddy bears, baby monitor, nursing pillow and more.
Many Mothers Grant
Molina Healthcare and The MolinaCares Accord announced a $15,000 grant to Many Mothers to improve behavioral health for mothers and their families in Northern New Mexico. Through this funding, Many Mothers will expand its maternal peer support program to include mindfulness exercises and teach stress relief tactics to help birthing parents pre- and post-labor establish healthy coping skills and manage mental wellness.
The peer group is led by a trained professional and will be conducted over the course of eight weeks with sessions in person, online, or a hybrid model. Support groups will incorporate shared practices from the clinically tested and proven SHIELDS for Families perinatal support participant toolkit that developed as a part of the UCLA Health Equity Challenge funded by The MolinaCares Accord. The toolkit, which contains stress reduction tactics and exercises, has proven to improve participant stress levels and mood among mothers of color, with nearly 90% of participants seeing an improvement in their Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a scale that measures depression, score pre- and post- test.
The Centers for Disease Control reported that one in eight women experience postpartum depression, emphasizing the need to provide support for new mothers by helping them to establish health coping skills and equipping them with the tools to manage mental wellness.
M.O.M.S. Tour
Molina joined the Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers (MOMS) Tour at an Albuquerque event to support improved maternal health outcomes in New Mexico. The MOMS Tour works to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the U.S., especially for communities at greater risk, including Black and American Indian/Alaska Native moms.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women.” Through this collaboration, we worked to reach underserved communities and bridge gaps in access to care.
Check out more information on the Albuquerque MOMS tour stop on KOAT here.