HealthNet, Entercom Communications and Sesame Street Live have partnered for this event to promote awareness of HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies and YOU have a chance to WIN 4 tickets to the show and 4 passes to meet the characters! Click here to enter. Pass the word to your friends!

HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies (BIBs) began in 1989 to battle the infant mortality rate in Indianapolis, which was one of the worst in the country. 

Better Indy Babies is a prenatal care coordination program providing services in areas surrounding our primary health care centers. The purpose of the program is to improve the health status of women participating in HealthNet’s OB program in order to reduce infant mortality rates and the incidence of low birth weight infants.

The BIBs program performance data documents a 30% reduction in infant mortality rates, a 20% reduction in preterm deliveries, decreased neonatal intensive care use, and increased self-esteem and parenting skills.  Satisfaction surveys also verify that program participants feel positive about their prenatal experience and that barriers were reduced as a result of their participation in the program.

The Better Indy Babies program serves women in neighborhoods with high teen pregnancy rates and high crime rates.  Other contributing factors include:  increased alcohol and drug use, limited prenatal education, high rates of unwanted or unintended pregnancies, and levels of low income resulting in minimal resources for basic needs such as food and proper housing.  The majority of families served live at or near 100% of the federal poverty level.

For more information on Better Indy Babies, please visit www.betterindybabies.org.

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Share this post with your friends and family!  Win 4 tickets to Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music, plus meet the characters!

Sammie learned about Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families when she was 14 years old and expecting her first child. She was scared, overwhelmed and knew she had a lot to learn.

She loved meeting with her Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families home visitors. Through their ongoing visits, they helped Sammie learn how to take better care of herself and her baby during her pregnancy. After her daughter Isabelle was born, they taught Sammie how to care for a newborn, and how to play developmental games with her daughter as she grew. They helped her understand about temper tantrums and when to be concerned – and what to do – when her child is sick. They also helped Sammie set personal goals, get back in school and look for jobs.

Sammie will graduate from high school this year. She also attends cosmetology school and has a full-time job. Isabelle is now 3 years old, and is growing and thriving. Thanks to a little mentoring from the Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families team, Sammie has been able to give Isabelle a great start in life.

Put your money toward a good cause this Saturday so that more moms like Sammie and little ones like Isabelle can get the boost they need to succeed in life. Stop by any of the six local Once Upon A Child stores and check out the great sale! (Even if you don’t have kids, it’s a chance to stock up on baby shower gifts or treats for nieces and nephews!) Pass the word to your friends!

Need directions? Find the store nearest you.

Can’t make it?  You can still make an impact…
VISIT blog.indyhealthnet.org/DONATE
TO CONTRIBUTE!

Each year, HealthNet’s Health Promotions partners with IU Health Cancer Prevention Services to offer Baby Be Sun Smart. This program is designed to provide mothers of newborns with the education necessary to prevent harmful sun exposure to their growing child.

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 54 percent of children burn or tan in their second summer, and 22 percent burn in their first. Parents need to be extra vigilant about sun protection at all times.  But keeping your children safe from the sun is sometimes not easy when you don’t have the financial means to purchase sunscreen. The Baby Be Sun Smart program not only provides educational materials, but also provides the proper sunscreen to give to parents to help get them started.

Part of the education process is to inform parents that infants under 6 months of age should be kept out of the sun. Their skin is too sensitive for sunscreen at this point, but other means of sun protection are covered by our providers such as:

• Use removable mesh window shields to keep direct sunlight from coming in through the windows of your car.
• Take walks before 10:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. and use a stroller with a sun-protective cover.
• Choose a wide-brimmed hat or bonnet that protects the baby’s face, neck, and ears.

Our other goal is to distribute 750 sun safety kits to HealthNet parents of babies between 0 and 3 years who come in for well-baby visits starting Memorial Day. The kit is a sand bucket filled with bilingual sun safety information, a hand-made baby bonnet and a small bottle of sunscreen for those children 6 months and older.

Starting in April, we are hosting a sunscreen drive to collect 750 travel-size bottles to complete the sun safety kits. The sunscreen should be:

• Broad-spectrum UVA and UVB
• SPF 30 or higher
• Tear-free formulas and waterproof
• Pocket-sized – 3 ounces

“With a little effort and planning, it’s easy for young children to enjoy the outdoors safely,” says Dr. Robins. “Parents need to make it a priority and to also lead by example.” – www.skincancer.org

To donate a bottle of sunscreen or to make a cash donation for our staff to purchase these items for our sun safety kits, click here. If you would like to host a sunscreen drive at your church or workplace, please contact Jane Meyer at 317-781-4978.

In Indiana, a child is abused or neglected every 25 minutes, and most of the time, abuse and neglect can be prevented.  HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies program uses an originally designed outreach model that consists of teams of health care workers which include social workers, registered nurses and community health workers.  These teams are charged with finding pregnant women, determining if the woman is enrolled in prenatal care, and if not, getting them into prenatal care.  The teams are also responsible for providing prenatal health education, support services and linkage to community resources.  This innovative approach is different than public health nursing.  Packaging a select group of interdisciplinary health workers, including community residents, into a team is now a model used in many organizations throughout the nation.

Better Indy Babies (BIBs) works closely with Healthy Families, a program that is part of Prevent Child Abuse America, in order to support at-risk families and provide them with more than education but a resource to lean on.  Poverty, lack of child-rearing education or experience, lack of formal education, and single-parenthood are all risk factors of both infant mortality and child abuse or neglect.

Become an advocate for programs that serve families who just need the comfort knowing that there is support.  Sometimes all it takes is knowing that there is someone there if you need them.  Maybe you can give a child in Indiana a few extra minutes by learning more about BIBs or Healthy Families, spreading awareness of organizations within your community, or donating here.