Grants Supporting Maternal Child Health

VNA’s longstanding interest in supporting the unique needs of mothers and babies is exemplified through grantees like PCC Community Wellness Center. PCC offers community nursing services that provide intensive education, prevention, support and home-visiting designed to improve breastfeeding rates, neonatal care and postpartum care among high-risk mothers and infants. This program has achieved impressive outcomes in both the number of mothers and children reached and the high rates of breastfeeding initiation and maintenance achieved.

Also supporting maternal child health is DuPage County’s Teen Parent Connection (TPC). Focusing on teen pregnancies, Teen Parent Connection offers prenatal education, birthing and postnatal support by doulas, and peer support—all part of a comprehensive continuum of care that begins during pregnancy and can continue until the child is five years old. TPC programs focus on parenting education, encouraging parents to stay in school and preventing additional pregnancies during adolescence, while also successfully achieving healthy birth outcomes. The agency serves almost 200 youth each year.