GRETNA, La. — Courtney Martin helps expectant moms at Crescent City Family Services. Women in need come from all over the metro area to the Gretna location for free help. It may be for nutritious food, pregnancy and breastfeeding education, or signing up for Medicaid to ensure a healthy delivery and baby.
“The gratitude is immense. I've had times to be able to speak with moms and just be in tears, because we are able to make an impact,” said Courtney Martin, Director of Family Services at Crescent City Family Services in Gretna.
She has seen firsthand the toll it takes when a new mother dies.
“It's devastating when you have a family come in and go like, ‘Hey, let's get mom in.’ And, and she's not there. That completely crumbles the family dynamics,” Martin said.
Soon, those at-risk mothers will be part of a new program aimed at combating a statewide problem. Louisiana ranks in the top 5 states with the highest death rates for mothers with new babies. and the loss of African-American mothers is especially high. Tulane Epidemiologist Dr. Emily Harville explains some of the obstacles.
“There might be, if a woman's under a lot of stress, she might not take good care of herself. So, she might be more likely to smoke. If she lives in a violent neighborhood, she may not, like, want to go out for a walk. And may not be able to get exercise. There might not be good transportation to allow her to get to a prenatal visit,” explained Harville.
Tulane, Ochsner, and the community nonprofit RH Impact were just awarded a seven-year, $16.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Together, they will create a research center of excellence to find solutions for the high number of new mothers dying. Ochsner maternal-fetal medicine physician Dr. Joseph Biggio says feeling comfortable during health care visits is important.
“When people have challenges getting access to care, and they don't have a good experience with health care, they're, it makes them much less likely to seek care.” said OB-GYN Dr. Joseph Biggio, System Chairman for Women’s Services.
Maternity ward staff will be trained at Ochsner to make sure all women's medical needs are treated equally. Tulane researchers will devise the studies. Crescent City Family Services will be able to refer pregnant women to the program. Since cardiovascular health problems is one cause of early death, doctors will be able to monitor patients' blood pressure through a special device they use at home.
“We actually end up with lower rates of preterm birth because we can manage it better,” said Dr. Biggio.
And that makes a more healthy mom and baby. The new program expects it will be a year or more before they start enrolling pregnant women.