Healthy Start: Learning communities for interconceptional health

Many have observed that no nation which ignores the health and welfare of its most vulnerable citizens can truly prosper. Twenty-two nations, in many ways similar to the U.S., are doing a better job of keeping babies alive. This grim statistic can change. With federal support, 99 Healthy Start communities across the country are fighting back to protect the health of women, their babies and families.

Against a sometimes intimidating array of challenges, including poverty, lack of health insurance, unhealthy environments and estrangement from the health care system, Healthy Start projects are engaging in community-driven strategies that are succeeding in lowering infant mortality, combating low birthweight and racial disparities in birth outcomes. Healthy Start communities don't stop helping to build healthy families when a healthy baby is born. They stay with the mother, the baby, the whole family, for two years, ensuring the mother's safety and health, monitoring the baby's growth and development, so that each new family is assured a “healthy start.” These projects have been “ahead of the curve” in recognizing that there can be both physical and psychological threats to a mother's health before, during, and after pregnancy. Part of what all Healthy Start projects are funded to do is help their communities build and strengthen the medical, social, and psychosocial resources available to women and their families. It is a recognized challenge to provide high quality services, but Healthy Start projects are forging alliances, filling gaps, and using novel approaches to make this happen.