Prenatal care is an important part of health care delivery to women. With proper prenatal care, it is possible to reduce the incidences of neonatal illnesses and complications. A significant part of prenatal care involves patient education. Behavioral modifications within the life of the pregnant woman can reduce the incidence of costly neonatal complications related to alcohol, drug use, and other environmental exposures. Nutrition is most valuable because a pregnant women require certain amounts of specific nutrients. Proper nutrition is related to healthier birth outcomes and infants with proper birthweight.

For certain sub-populations (the uninsured, immigrants, minorities) have a lack of access to proper prenatal care. The information provided below is a compilation of web sites and web documents which provide information on prenatal health.

http://www.prenataled.com/

PrenatalED is a web resource that provides information on prenatal care for health care providers and managed care professionals. It provides information in health education, patient education, health promotion, maternal infant health and maternity case management. It is an electronic handbook of scientific and practical information on developing and evaluating health related content and materials. The website has a monthly newsletter and research and reference center. There are over twenty links to different resource sites. PrenatalED.com also sponsor a few web sites, one of which is Health Literacy Toolbox 2000.

http://www.modimes.org/

The march of dimes recognize four major problems that threaten the health of American babies. They are birth defects, infant mortality, low birthweight, and lack of prenatal care.

year 2000 to bring us closer to the day when all babies will be born healthy. Four major goals for this organization is to reduce birth defects by 10 percent, reduce infant mortality to 7 per 1,000 live births, reduce low birthweight to no more than 5 percent of all live births, and increase the number of women who get prenatal care in the first trimester to 90 percent. This website has value to managed care programs who are interested in promoting healthy behaviors amongst pregnant women. There is information relating to breastfeeding practices and importance of folic acid to the expectant mothers. Finally, there is an abundance of free materials for the general public.

#3) Expectant Mother’s Guide to Northeast New Jersey http://www.spindlepub.com/emg/local/ENJ99.htm

Expectant Mother's Guide can help mothers find pregnancy, childbirth & baby resources. This includes baby & maternity clothing; nursery furniture & accessories; maternity hospitals & services; midwives, childbirth classes & labor support; birth announcements; chiropractic care; lactation consultants & breastfeeding information; children's hospitals, pediatricians & pediatric dentists and much more. This web site also provide information relating to areas such as New York City, Connecticut, and others. While geared more towards patients/consumers (i.e. pregnant mothers), this site may prove valuable to managed care organizations as a resource guide for their consumers. Furthermore this is a great opportunity for those in the industry who wants to network and expand their reach into local communities of Northeast New Jersey.

http://www.snjpc.org/

This the official site of the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative. This organization is involved in many community-based projects aimed at addressing the prevention of preterm delivery and low birth weight infants. It serves the seven counties in Southern New Jersey Region. The Cooperative has several coalitions under its watch. One popular coalition is the Atlantic City and Camden City Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalitions. The Cooperative is unique among perinatal systems in the United States. It oversees an integrated network of hospital and community agencies, is committed to collaboration with local public health agencies and includes consumers as partners in the policy making. Two important features of the site is the monthly nurse network newsletter and pregnancy healthline. This site should be very valuable for those in managed care interested in prenatal health care delivery and particularly the disenfranchised minority communities located in southern New Jersey

http://www.state.nj.us/health/bibs/

This site is a subdivision of the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services. It recognizes the importance of raising importance of the fact that the infant mortality rate for blacks is twice that of whites. The site provides information and resources for both the general public and individuals involved in health care. As a subdivision, the depth of this site is somewhat limited. Yet, it is valuable due to its thorough presentation of a sensitive and confusing topic. Managed care individuals interested in prenatal health for minorities should visit this site.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-preg1.html

Some pregnant women forget that proper nutrition during pregnancy is related to healthier birth outcomes. This article discusses the importance of nutrition during pregnancy, and how lactation and pregnancy affects a woman’s nutritional needs. The information provided is a valuable resource for consumer health education.

http://www.state.nj.us/health/fhs/bim.htm

This report contains pertinent information about the race disparity that exists around infant mortality in America. The information provided is of importance to health care providers and managed care associations who serve predominantly black communities.

Moreover it contains information from a statewide investigation of black infant mortality in the state of New Jersey.

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/drh/datoact/pdf/rhow8.pdf

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, prenatal care has been recognized as the cornerstone of the U.S. health care system. This document covers the history of prenatal care in the U.S. and its impact on public health. There is an abundance of valuable data and resources for those interested in prenatal care.

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2000/nichd-04.htm

This document discusses cost-effective methods of reducing HIV transmission from pregnant mother to newborn. The information contained is of value for health care individuals and managed care associations who serve large subgroups of HIV positive individuals. Using an effective but less costly method of reducing neonatal HIV transmission may benefit certain organizations.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/cddh/folic/ntd/preface/when.htm

The information provided is valuable for both patient and health care provider. Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) is preventable with proper intake of folic acid. Reducing the incidence of neural tube defects will save health care dollars that must be added to handle neonatal problems, such as spina bifida, anencephaly, and others. Women who do not receive proper prenatal care or visit primary care doctors infrequently must be informed of the importance of this nutritional supplement.

• Insurance Coverage of Birth Control