Did you find out you were pregnant and think—What Do I Do Now?
Who can I turn to with questions?
How am I going to pay for any of this?
Healthy Start can help.
Healthy Start is an initiative from Cobb & Douglas Public Health that supports women during and after pregnancy. Our goal is to work one-on-one with pregnant women like you to address your health and social service needs and strengthen family resilience. At Healthy Start, you’ll have someone there to help you and ensure your baby is born healthy.
Healthy Start is available for any pregnant, African American woman in Cobb or Douglas counties.
Is Healthy Start for Me?
Healthy Start is a no-cost program that serves pregnant Black or African American women, in Cobb and Douglas counties, no matter their marital or economic status. The best candidates for Healthy Start are less than 28 weeks pregnant, but you are eligible at any point during your pregnancy.
Empowered to Make Healthy Choices
At Healthy Start, we want to open the door to life-changing opportunities to improve the overall health of your family. The Healthy Start program provides comprehensive, family-centered care that helps moms like you create a stable home and practice taking care of yourself, so you can care for your child.
We hope that through our guidance, you feel empowered to make the best decisions for your family and give your baby a healthy start in life.
How Can Healthy Start Make a Difference for Your Family?
We can guide you from what to expect in childbirth to basic newborn care. We’ll go over the changes to your body and emotions during pregnancy, safe sleep strategies to reduce the risk of SIDS, physical and emotional benefits of breastfeeding, and many more helpful topics that will keep your baby safe and growing on track for a healthy life.
In our program, you’ll receive general health education, personal nutrition counseling, and advice on family planning. Our registered nurse works with you to help create a plan for before and after your baby is born, set goals for your health and build lifelong habits. This includes helping you access health insurance, regular well visits, screenings for chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, and other services that can help you.
We’ll be there to offer parenting support, encourage father/partner involvement, perform home visits, and help create a reproductive life plan. Pregnancy is a lot to handle. But at Healthy Start, you’re not alone on this journey.
Know Your Maternal Warning Signs & When to Seek Help.
Did you know that 700 women in the U.S. die each year from pregnancy-related complications? You or someone you know who is pregnant or delivered a baby within the year could be at risk!
Know the MATERNAL WARNING SIGNS.
SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY if you/she has any signs.
- Headaches that won’t go away or get worse over time
- Dizziness or fainting
- Thoughts about hurting yourself or baby
- Changes in your vision
- Fever
- Trouble breathing
- Chest pain or fast-beating heart
- Severe belly pain that doesn’t go away
- Severe nausea and throwing up (not like morning sickness)
- Baby’s movements stopping or slowing during pregnancy
- Vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking during pregnancy
- Swelling, redness or pain of your leg
- Extreme swelling of your hands or face
- Overwhelming tiredness
For more information, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/index.html
Our Personal Touch Changes Lives
Healthy Start can make a difference in your pregnancy because we meet you where you are. No matter what you need, your personal care coordinator is there for one-on-one support. When we come into your home, or whatever space you feel safe in, we’re there to listen to and care for you. You’ll work with the same staff member every time, so that they can get to know you, help you determine your needs and track your progress.
Inspiring Fathers Program
As part of our efforts to strengthen families, we offer a special program for individuals who support a mom in Healthy Start. We want to prepare fathers, partners or other support figures for the mental, spiritual and emotional responsibility of being actively involved in the child’s life.
Our Inspiring Fathers program includes a 13-week course that will teach you the tools to care for the financial and emotional stability of your family. Topics will cover issues such as job training, housing assistance, self-esteem, relationship building and parenting skills. Dads meet once a week over a hot meal as we help you build a safe, strong home life for your child. We hope you’ll join us!
For more information on the Inspiring Fathers Program, please visit our webpage, or call 770.635.0523.
Inspiring Fathers Program
As part of our efforts to strengthen families, we offer a special program for individuals who support a mom in Healthy Start. We want to prepare fathers, partners or other support figures for the mental, spiritual and emotional responsibility of being actively involved in the child’s life.
Our Inspiring Fathers program includes a 13-week course that will teach you the tools to care for the financial and emotional stability of your family. Topics will cover issues such as job training, housing assistance, self-esteem, relationship building and parenting skills. Dads meet once a week over a hot meal as we help you build a safe, strong home life for your child. We hope you’ll join us!
For more information on the Inspiring Fathers Program, please visit our webpage, or call 770.635.0523.
Why is Healthy Start So Important?
- African American women are 3-4 times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than other races.
- About 3 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths can be prevented.
- Low birth weight babies are more likely than babies with normal weight to have certain health conditions later in life. Ex. diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure
- The risk of preterm labor and birth can be reduced by avoiding tobacco, alcohol and drug use, receiving prenatal care as soon as possible, maintaining a healthy weight before and during pregnancy, waiting at least 18 months between pregnancies.