$1,000 GRANT TO AID EXPECTANT MOTHERS

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Department has been awarded a grant by the March of Dimes to improve care for pregnant women and their children.

"Maternal-child health is about 55 or 60 percent of what the community health staff handles in terms of targeted problems," said Charlotte Craig, director of the health department. "Prevention is the key word; that's the middle name of public health."

The health department received a $1,000 program grant, said Matt Hopkins, Southeast division director for the Greater Missouri Chapter of the March of Dimes.

"The March of Dimes funds research to help prevent birth defects," Hopkins said. "As research has been done, it's been found that prevention can prevent birth defects."

Regular prenatal care and proper nutrition during pregnancy are two important steps women can take to help prevent birth defects, Craig said.

The final decision has not been made on exactly how the grant will be used, she said, but "what I see happening is assisting people to get to the WIC (Women, Infant and Children) program" and to doctors' appointments for prenatal care.

WIC is a federally funded program in which food vouchers are issued to expectant mothers and young children to purchase formula, milk and other specific items necessary for proper nutrition and development.

"We've known for years that proper nutrition during pregnancy can prevent low birth weight, mental retardation, all kinds of things," Craig said. "That's going to be a starting place for this."

The health department currently serves approximately 1,400 mothers and children through its WIC program, she said.

Transportation is "a major barrier to health care" throughout the U.S., Craig said. Without public transportation, it is hard for women to get to the health department or doctors' offices to receive regular prenatal care, she said.

Some expectant mothers also need a little stricter case management to make sure they go to the doctor regularly, she said.

"These people can benefit from someone taking them through the system and doing a follow-up if they don't get to the doctor's office."