Vol. 1 - Pages 15.1-15.89 (Printed Version)

Health Protection and Promotion

WORKSITE STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE MATERNAL AND INFANT HEALTH:
EXPERIENCES OF US EMPLOYERS

 

Level I Informational Campaign is designed to create awareness at the worksite about the importance of early and regular prenatal care. To sustain this level of implementation, a variety of print and audiovisual materials is available from the March of Dimes.

Level II Educational Seminars are delivered at the worksite by March of Dimes volunteer health professionals. Fourteen different seminar topics are available to choose from, including: preconception care, prenatal care, nutrition, exercise and pregnancy, pregnancy after 35, stress and pregnancy, pregnancy complications, well-baby care, male role in pregnancy, and breastfeeding.

Level III Training of Health Professionals allows a worksite to establish Babies and You as an on-going component of its wellness activities. The March of Dimes provides a one-day training on programme delivery and implementation to on-site health professionals such as occupational health nurses, benefits managers, medical directors and health promotion specialists.

But no matter what level of Babies and You a worksite chooses to implement, there are eight goals of a successful prenatal health promotion effort that this programme strives to achieve:

·       Management commitment

·       Inter-departmental programme planning

·       Employee input

·       The offering of incentives

·       Supportive benefits and policies

·       Establishment of communications channels

·       Access to community resources

·       Evaluation