NewYork-Presbyterian has introduced a Mom & Baby Mobile Health Center to offer high-quality health care to pregnant women and women of childbearing age in underserved areas of New York City.
The Mom & Baby Mobile Health Center® is a partnership with March of Dimes and is the first of its kind in the tristate area. This mobile center provides pregnancy, post-birth, and women’s health care directly to women in their communities, regardless of insurance or immigration status.
The services provided include full obstetric and well-woman exams, prenatal and postpartum care, screenings for cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), breast exams, vaccinations, laboratory testing, ultrasounds, contraceptive counseling, mental health screenings and referrals, and education about newborn care with breastfeeding support. Patients can schedule follow-up care at a medical location if needed.
“The Mom & Baby Mobile Health Center offers a bridge to care,” said Dr. Auja McDougale, the center’s medical director and an obstetrician and gynecologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “Bringing patients into the healthcare system for ongoing care is vital for healthy moms and babies.”
According to March of Dimes, one in 18 infants in New York is born to a woman receiving late or no prenatal care. Early and regular prenatal care can greatly improve the chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby.
“March of Dimes is proud to support families at every stage of pregnancy, even when high-quality care is hard to reach,” said Darcy Dreyer, March of Dimes Director of Maternal Infant Health for New York. “Our mobile health centers bring support, education, and care to moms, moms-to-be, and their families.”
Staffed by NewYork-Presbyterian healthcare providers, the 40-foot unit features two exam rooms and an intake and lab area with refrigerators for specimens, medications, and vaccines.
NewYork-Presbyterian’s Division of Community and Population Health works with community-based organizations to bring the mobile unit to the women they serve. Currently, the Mom and Baby Bus visits two shelters for unhoused women and families in Queens, operated by the non-profit agency CAMBA, with plans to expand to more neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn that have high rates of late or no prenatal care.
The mobile unit aims to close the access gap, reduce health disparities, and improve health outcomes for moms, babies, and women of childbearing age.
