Maryland Women’s Health Programs
Health of Maryland Women Report
“The Health of Maryland Women 2008”, produced by the Women’s Health Program within the Center for Maternal and Child Health, provides an overview of key women’s health issues by race, ethnicity and age across the lifespan.
Health of Maryland Women 2008
Health of Maryland Women 2002
Summary: Health of Maryland Woman
Wellness Programs
The Women’s Health Program actively advocates for the prevention of chronic medical conditions by supporting healthy behaviors early in life and treatment of problems before they worsen. Targeting young women not only helps women lead healthier lives later on but for those who desire to have children in the future, it also prevents adverse pregnancy outcomes for both the mother and her baby. A women’s wellness program is an important part of women’s health, preconception health and interconception health.
Examples of wellness programs include:
Family Planning Program
The Maryland Title X Family Planning Program, administered by the Center for Maternal and Child Health, serves over 77,000 low-income, uninsured women. Besides contraception and pregnancy testing services, cervical cancer screening, HIV and sexual transmitted infection testing, and preconceptional folic acid counseling are also provided.
Women Enjoying Life Longer (WELL) Project
Selected for funding 2001-2005 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), WELL provides a model for the integration of health services (such as smoking cessation, weight management, domestic violence counseling, depression screening, medical screening, immunization) to promote wellness among Maryland women enrolled in the Baltimore County Maryland Family Planning Program. These women have difficult access to health care—most live at or below the federal poverty level and are uninsured. The WELL Project has been presented as an innovative clinical women’s health model at the American Public Health Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), and CityMatCH.
Routine Medical Screening and Immunization Guidelines for Women - From Teens to 60s and Beyond
Getting regular screening tests, checkups, and immunizations are the most important tools for staying in good health. These charts are a starting point for a discussion with your health care provider about what you can do to prevent certain diseases and keep healthy. Depending on your personal medical and family history, you can decide which activities and tests are right for you.
Depression
A Maryland Maternal Depression Advisory Committee was established in 2004 as a result of data from PRAMS and the Maternal Mortality Review Committee showing the high prevalence of postpartum depression and the tragic consequences of suicide. This multi-disciplinary committee provides oversight on state public health activities regarding maternal depression.
The Mental Health Association of Maryland was awarded a one-year grant (2005) from the Maternal and Child Health bureau to educate providers and families about perinatal depression. The Healthy New Moms Program offers consumer and provider information about depression and has a 24-hour helpline (1-800-PPD-MOMS) for individuals needing assistance.
Presentations about depression among women have been provided by Women’s Health at national (AMCHP, CityMatch, HRSA, PRAMS) and local forums including hospital grand rounds, state conferences and national webcasts.The Center for Maternal and Child Health created two brochures
Women and Depression Across the Lifespan
Also available in 6 languages – Chinese, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese.
Domestic Violence
Local Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams (DVFRT) - As of 2008, Baltimore City and 15 other Maryland counties have organized domestic violence fatality review teams. Each multi-disciplinary team has representatives from various organizations in a county, such as domestic violence agencies, the State's attorney's office, law enforcement, hospitals, the local health department, parole and probation, the district court. The Women’s Health Program is represented at the Baltimore City DVFRT, where the majority of cases occur.
Survey of New Mothers in Maryland
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). PRAMS is a population-based surveillance of new mothers in Maryland that has been operating at the Center for Maternal and Child Health under a cooperative agreement with the CDC since 1999. PRAMS provides Maryland with information about maternal health factors and behaviors before, during and after pregnancy. Further information, Annual Reports (2000-2007), and program briefs from PRAMS (Postpartum Depression, Unintended Pregnancy, Alcohol Use during Pregnancy, Quality of Prenatal Care, Circumcision, HIV Counseling and Testing, Births to Hispanic Women) are available at www.marylandprams.org.
HIV and Perinatal Infections
Regional Perinatal Advisory Group (RPAG)Baltimore Regional Perinatal Advisory Group (RPAG), established by the Center for Maternal and Child Health, has developed “Preventing Perinatal HIV Transmission: A Clincian’s Toolkit for Testing, Counseling and Referral”.RPAG is currently working on pertussis and other immunization recommendations for new mothers.
Substance Abuse
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Coalition. Women’s Health is part of the Maryland Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Coalition. This group meets regularly to increase awareness of the tragic effects of FASD, help women abstain from alcohol during pregnancy, and advocate for a comprehensive action plan for families affected by FASD.
Baltimore Regional Perinatal Advisory Group (RPAG) - Women’s Health is part of RPAG’s subcommittee on Substance Abuse Committee—established in 2008 to help women have healthier pregnancies by avoiding cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs.
The Maryland Quitline has been an invaluable resource to help women stop smoking. It is used as a referral site for the WELL and family planning programs and has helped many women stop smoking preconceptionally and during pregnancy.
Obesity and Chronic Medical Conditions
Women’s Health collaborates with other programs to provide resources, education, and advocacy for healthy living at every stage of life for women in Maryland.