United Memorial Medical Center task force supports birthing patients and families
Robust perinatal care is important for birthing patients; stress and anxiety during pregnancy are associated with poor long-term maternal and child health outcomes. Established in March 2021, Rochester Regional Health-United Memorial Medical Center established a perinatal task force to support parenting and pregnant families.
The task force is a direct result of collaboration between the MOMS program and the Women’s Care Centers at UMMC. The medical center uses responses from a referral form to connect individuals to self-identified requested services, enabling UMMC to understand what people want instead of assuming they know.
Direct partnerships and referrals to community agencies allow for warm client hand-offs and address the state’s cross-cutting principles to improve health outcomes, enable well-being and promote equity across the lifespan.
UMMC also recently introduced Whole Love Doula to UMMC’s obstetric team, creating a respectful working relationship that further positively impacts the birthing families.
The task force’s work addresses several New York State Prevention Agenda priority areas, including preventing chronic diseases; promoting healthy women, infants and children; promoting wellbeing; and preventing mental and substance use disorders.
As a result of the task force, the number of pregnant individuals connected to community agencies increased significantly in the past year, with 152 families assisted as of November 2023, compared to a total of 82 assisted in 2022. Collaborating with maternal services in providing prenatal breastfeeding education has improved UMMC’s exclusive breastfeeding rates from 58% to 61%.
For more information, contact Megan Boring, MOMS Program Coordinator and Perinatal Task Force Leader at Megan.Boring@rochesterregional.org or 585.344.5355.
