NC Baby Love Program
Maternal Care Coordination & Maternal Outreach Worker Programs
The Baby Love program is a combination of services designed to help Medicaid-eligible pregnant women have healthy babies. The program can assist women from the beginning of pregnancy by providing:
- Maternity Care Coordination and Maternal Outreach Worker services;
- Counseling and emotional support;
- Clinical and home visits;
- Referrals to other programs like WIC, dental care, dietary evaluation/counseling, psychosocial counseling, and family planning, including the Family Planning Waiver.
The Baby Love Program's Maternity Care Coordinators (MCCs) and Maternal Outreach Workers (MOWs) provide extra support services to Medicaid-eligible pregnant women. They help women to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies by providing information and helping families find the resources they need.
The Maternity Care Coordination Program is staffed by social workers who help pregnant women and new mothers work on concerns that may affect the baby's health. MCCs can provide:
- Assistance in applying for Medicaid and health insurance coverage for other children;
- Referrals to community resources and agencies for housing, school, transportation, child care, etc.;
- Assistance with information on pregnancy and newborn care; and
- Referrals for counseling on issues that cause stress or worry.
Maternal Outreach Workers are paraprofessionals who offer outreach and support services through home visits to Medicaid-eligible pregnant women and infants up to one year. This program helps to support isolated or stressed women and children who do not typically receive preventive health services.
The goal of the program is to reduce infant deaths in North Carolina. The Maternal Outreach Worker Program strives to achieve this goal through the following outcomes:
- Earlier entry and enrollment into Medicaid; prenatal care; WIC; and maternity care coordination, child service coordination, and other supportive programs;
- Improved consistency of care and reduction of missed prenatal and child health appointments;
- Adoption of healthy behaviors and improved parenting skills; and
- Increased time interval for subsequent pregnancies and reduction in the incidence of unplanned pregnancies.
Maternal Outreach Workers provide the following services to program participants:
- Health education
- Emotional support
- Direct services
- Referral to community and social service programs