At the Washtenaw County Public Health Department, we are committed to helping women have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. One way we do this is through our MIHP (officially known as the Maternal Infant Health Program) program. MIHP is for all Michigan women with Medicaid health insurance who are pregnant and all infants with Medicaid. It is a benefit of their insurance.

I'd like to share a story about one of our clients that persevered through many obstacles and had a good pregnancy outcome:

Miss P was referred to the Washtenaw County Maternal Infant Health Program (MIHP) when she was in patient at a local drug rehab facility and pregnant with her first child. She never thought she could get pregnant because she had health problems and had been a long-time drug addict.

Once in our MIHP program, Miss P. was provided home-based services that included a public health nurse, nutritionist and social worker, all with the goals of helping her maintain a healthy pregnancy, remain sober and keep the family together. This was no easy task, because along with being a drug addict and only recently sober, this mother had suffered a traumatic head injury several years prior and now had a seizure disorder.

She had limited financial resources and limited family support. On paper, this woman should not have done well, and it was likely her child was going to be removed by child protective services.

We continued to provide MIHP services to the family, and Miss P delivered a healthy, although slightly below-average weight, baby at 36 weeks. Unfortunately, the baby was born cocaine positive only because the mother had just entered into drug treatment in her last trimester.

That first year was difficult, but with our interventions and Miss P's hard work, she was able to keep custody of her daughter. She never cancelled appointments with our staff and was always eager for our visits. She viewed the visits with our staff as being her security blanket and trusted our staff and shared with them her hopes and fears.

This family was involved with our staff until the child reached 3 ½ years of age. The mom remained sober the entire duration of our involvement, with the exception of one relapse during the first year. She was able to find independent housing, and our social worker helped the mom become eligible for social security disability due to her seizure disorder. This in turn gave her financial stability to provide for her and her child.

Through consistent work, the mom and the interventionists developed a lasting trust that helped the mom remain sober and gave her the confidence to be a good parent. The mother often commented towards the end of the case that her workers were the ones who believed in her when no one else did, and because of their help, she was able to give her child a home and be a good mom to her.

Miss P has developed a friendship circle through a parenting group as well as through the recovering community. She has reconnected with her family after years of estrangement. And by age 3, the child had met or exceeded all of her developmental milestones and was thriving in her preschool! Child and mom have developed a healthy relationship. Miss P was very sad when our time together had to end, but she felt as though she learned many things from our work, and believed she could continue on a positive path.

MIHP is a program for all Michigan women with Medicaid health insurance who are pregnant and all infants with Medicaid. It is a benefit of their insurance. MIHP provides support to promote healthy pregnancies, good birth outcomes, and healthy infants. This program can help you get the support you and your new baby need to be and remain healthy. Our services are absolutely free to moms and babies who are on or qualify for Medicaid.

Call 734-544-2984 or 734-544-6700 or ask your doctor for a referral.

Resources:
• What if I don't have Medicaid?
• Michigan Department of Community Health MIHP
• Washtenaw County Public Health MIHP

Christina Katka can be reached at 734-544-2984