Some mothers in the Bronx are so busy caring for their children and working that they neglect to care for themselves. Concerned staff members at Union Community Health Center in New York are responding with a new health care model. They will try to bring moms and kids in simultaneously.
“They put their families first and themselves last,” said Dr. James Ryan. One result of that phenomena is that the Bronx has high rates of pregnancy-related deaths compared to the rest of New York and the United States as a whole.
Union hopes to improve conditions by offering extended hours at a new maternal and child center offering services for adults and children alike. Currently, only about 30 percent of the center’s new moms return for routine post-partum care. “These women are working,” said Ryan, Union’s assistant vice president of OB/GYN.
Mothers will be able to get care at the same time their children get childhood checkups and vaccinations. “It’s kind of like a one-stop shop…it benefits the moms; it benefits the babies,” Ryan said.