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This new program will build upon the existing programs currently provided by the IRC of Phoenix, including support in areas of resettlement, finance, community integration, and health. The objectives of this new prenatal-focused program are to serve the needs of pregnant refugee women by providing the physical and emotional support they need through partnerships with hospitals (such as Saint Joseph’s Hospital) and organizations (such as the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic of Phoenix).
The target audience includes women who seek refuge in the Phoenix area in the midst of a pregnancy, or with the intention to become pregnant and who are receiving other services from the IRC of Phoenix. This grant will fund a prenatal care caseworker position for as long as there are incoming funds and pregnant refugee women in Phoenix. The prenatal care caseworker’s duties include:
● Monitoring the overall health of pregnant refugee women assisted by the IRC of Phoenix
● Expanding access to prenatal care for pregnant refugee women
● Connecting pregnant refugee women with necessary information on healthy pregnancies and introducing them to childcare programs that the IRC of Phoenix currently provides
● Creating and maintaining strong relationships with hospitals and health care facilities
● Accompanying pregnant refugee women to medical appointments as needed
● Participating in all other duties necessary to ensure the safe pregnancy of refugee women under the care of the IRC of Phoenix
To evaluate the success of the program, the IRC of Phoenix will monitor the number of pregnant refugee women seeking help and monitor health to see how the women are being served and the number of these women who are fully served based on the above objectives. The required grant money needed each year amounts to $40,000. A multi-year commitment of at least five years is expected. This funding represents the annual salary of the newly hired caseworker, and the IRC of Phoenix will be covering administration costs, supplies, and equipment.
Prenatal Care is an educational booklet written by Mary Mills West of the US Children’s Bureau and published by the US Government Printing Office in 1913. The Bureau distributed West’s booklets in response to their field studies on infant mortality, which found that lack of access to accurate health and hygiene information put women and infants at greater than normal risk of death or disease. In Prenatal Care, West offers advice on nutrition, exercise, and personal hygiene during pregnancy and describes the processes of labor and birth. Soon after publication, women all over the US requested copies of Prenatal Care. Millions of copies of Prenatal Care were distributed nationally between 1921 and 1928 as part of educational programs funded by the Sheppard-Towner Act, and the infant mortality rate declined during that period.
In 2014, Big Belli, a media and social networking brand, released a documentary called 40 Weeks online. The documentary, directed by Christopher Henze, followed multiple women during their pregnancies. The film predominantly features three women, though it includes the stories of many. Throughout the film, women detail their accounts of the physical and emotional changes that occur during pregnancy. 40 Weeks provides viewers with information about different aspects of pregnancy including the importance of nutrition and hydration, knowledge about safe medications, and the possible complications that can affect a pregnant woman and her fetus.
In 2008, Barranca Productions released a documentary called The Business of Being Born, detailing the topic of childbirth. Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein produced and directed the documentary. The documentary explores pregnancy related healthcare in the US, including the history of midwives and obstetrics. The film also discusses potential consequences of medicalized childbirth common in the twenty-first century. The Business of Being Born provides viewers with information about home-births, midwives, and the positive and negative aspects of going to the hospital for childbirth.