Local Black Infant Health Program Offers Expectant Mothers Emotional Support, Cultural Awareness, Educational Workshops

Expectant African-American mothers residing in Pasadena, Arcadia, South Pasadena, Altadena, Monrovia, Duarte and surrounding areas can benefit from the California Black Infant Health Program (BIH) which offers emotional support, cultural awareness and educational workshops on a range of topics such as pregnancy, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and others.

The BIH Program also offers referrals and provides items such as monthly diapers drop-offs to participants, clothes, car seats, and other necessities for expectant mothers.

BIH was created at the state level as a result of California Senate Bill 165 of the Budget Act of 1989 to address the high rate of infant mortality for African American families. With the passage of SB 165, the state began to more aggressively address the challenge of improving the health of African American women, infants, and children by promoting health and health care during the prenatal and postpartum periods and providing services in a supportive and culturally-competent manner.

Originally a pilot project in four sites, the BIH Program has expanded its reach to 17 local health jurisdictions where over 90 percent of all African-American births occur in California. The primary focus of the original program was getting participants into prenatal care.

In 1993, the California Department of Public Health and Los Angeles County’s Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) program contracted with the University of Southern California (USC) to conduct an assessment of the BIH Program, and saw that participants served had multiple complex needs beyond the scope prenatal care.

Based on the findings, a standardized statewide “best practice” model was recommended. Six BIH models were developed in 1995 to address the various needs of the participants and the fathers of the babies. These models were Prenatal Care Outreach and Care Coordination, Comprehensive Case Management, Social Support and Empowerment, The Role of Men, Health Behavior Modification, and Prevention.

Another assessment conducted by the UC San Francisco Center on Social Disparities in Health (CSDH) revealed that solely getting prenatal care will not decrease racial disparities in birth outcomes. It saw that interventions such as group-based prenatal care emphasizing social support and empowerment have yielded promising results. Evidence is still mixed regarding the effect of social support on birth outcomes, but positive effects have been demonstrated on a variety of maternal health outcomes, and social support has been shown to buffer against stress.

In Pasadena, as well as in all of the other 16 similar local health jurisdictions in the state, the BIH program is implemented using a group-based approach, where participants get to meet, interact and build a sisterhood with other Black women. Group sessions are complemented with client-centered life planning, goal setting and referrals to services for participants and their families.

The combination is seen to help women enhance life skills, learn proven strategies to reduce stress, and build social support. Ultimately, this two-pronged approach impacts not only participants themselves, but future generations of Black women, infants and families.

To learn more about the Black Infant Health program in Pasadena, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/public-health/black-infant-health-program.