Ohio has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. As part of a larger effort to reduce that, Mayor Andrew Ginther has unveiled a new service called StepOne for a Healthy Pregnancy. Expectant mothers can now call or go online to connect with prenatal services.
Without prenatal care newborns are more likely to have a low-birth weight and five times less likely to survive according to health experts. The new program, StepOne is an information and referral service aimed at getting women in touch with prenatal services early on in their pregnancy. Mayor Andrew Ginther says StepOne will even help women who cannot afford healthcare get prenatal services.
"This is all about getting women connected with doctors and other services as early in their pregnancy as possible."
StepOne will help expectant mothers apply for medicaid and other social services. The pilot program that began in January has already served more than 200 women.