Access to Care
When maternal health is only a priority during the time a women is pregnant, it ignores the importance of improving health for all women of reproductive age. Expanding Medicaid eligibility in Kansas and Missouri would improve mother and infant health outcomes. PICH is considering the transportation barriers that exist for underserved families and their ability to access health care and other services.
Tobacco Cessation
Tobacco use while pregnant may lead to prematurity, low birth weight, birth defects, still births, miscarriages and SIDS. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death. PICH supports tobacco 21 policies, publicizing state tobacco quit lines, and provider education.
QUITLINE FACT SHEET (pdf)
QUITNOW.NET
Safe Sleep
16% of infant deaths in the Kansas City metro are sleep-related. The majority of these are preventable. Help us inform families on the ABCs of safe sleep, make sure that families have cribs, and provide the tools to reduce smoking in the home.
Metro KC Breastfeeding Collaborative (MKCBC)
This committee works to build an awareness regarding the importance of breastfeeding at all levels of community: mothers, families and businesses. The Breastfeeding Collaborative focuses its efforts on educating mothers and families about breastfeeding as the best option for the health of mothers and babies. MCHC leads prevention strategies focused on healthy weight pregnancies and breastfeeding through its respective committee activities in coordination with Weighing In. Taking an interest in the most nutritious and natural method of infant feeding, the Metro KC Breastfeeding Collaborative works across state lines and among diverse partners in the Kansas City region to educate and advocate regarding the importance of breastfeeding in all sectors of the community. Breastfeeding will be supported as the cultural norm in the bi-state, metropolitan Kansas City region for every mother and child.
