During Pregnancy

MomsFirst Services
Dental Hygiene
Lead Poisoning Prevention
Perinatal Depression
Prenatal Care
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Smoking and Pregnancy 

MomsFirst Services

If you are pregnant and live in the City of Cleveland, MomsFirst can help you and your baby have a healthy pregnancy.  MomsFirst has Community Health Workers that are trained in health care and social services.  They will meet with you twice a month and provide education, support, and resources to reduce your risks that may affect the health of your baby or yourself.

Your Community Health Worker will help you:

• Find a doctor for you and your baby
• Get to the doctor for your check-ups
• Get any medical and social services you need
• Get answers to questions you may have about prenatal care, baby care, birth control and family planning

MomsFirst provides services to teenagers too. Our teen program’s goals are:

• To help pregnant teens get medical care so they can have a healthy baby
• To educate teens about pregnancy and other health related issues
• To get child care and other social services so teens can stay in school and graduate
• To keep everything about teens in the program very private

For teen services, please contact May Dugan Multi-Services Center at (216) 631-5800.

MomsFirst also works with pregnant women in jail, rehabilitation centers, and homeless shelters.  You can get health care, parenting classes, health screenings, and social services to help you and your children live together when you are released.

For these services, please contact Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, Inc at (216) 231-7700.

Dental Hygiene

Your teeth and gums are affected by pregnancy, just as other tissues in the body and the health of your gums may affect the health of your baby-to-be.  Many pregnant women notice that their gums bleed when they brush or floss their teeth.  Food particles that get caught between the tooth and gum attract bacteria, which can lead to inflammation.  This condition can be uncomfortable and cause swelling, bleeding, redness or tenderness in the gum tissue.  This can happen to anyone, but the hormones of pregnancy often aggravate it by causing tissues to swell and augmenting the supply of blood to the gums.  Conversely, a more advanced condition called periodontal disease (a serious gum infection that destroys attachment fibers and supporting bone that hold teeth in the mouth) may affect the health of your baby.  Studies have shown a relationship between periodontal disease and preterm, low birthweight babies.

These conditions can be prevented by brushing and flossing at least twice a day and seeing your dentist for regular check-ups.  If you need help locating a dentist please call 1-800-336-8478 or visit www.1800dentist.com.

Lead Poisoning Prevention

Lead poisoning is a serious problem in the City of Cleveland. Lead poisoning prevention applies to all family members, not just children.  Exposure to lead during your pregnancy can affect your baby-to-be.  Lead enters the body through ingestion or inhalation.  It is important to know that lead can be passed from mother to fetus.  The mother’s lead levels and the fetus’s level are almost the same. 

Ways to be exposed to lead include

• Unsafe home renovations such as sanding or burning paint pre-1970; demolishing ceilings or wall cavities
• Cleaning or entering areas containing lead
• Work clothes or shoes covered in lead dust
• Dry sweeping and dusting

Ways to minimize lead risk include

• Move out during home renovation
• Maintain good hygiene by washing hands before eating or preparing food
• Wash fruits and vegetables
• Wash hands after playing outside or touching animals
• Wet wipe surfaces before preparing food or drinks
• Wet mop rather than sweep
• Wet wipe windowsills, ledges, and flat surfaces at least weekly after vacuuming
• Use a door mat to trap lead dust
• Leave shoes outside of door
• Maintain a healthy diet

Some symptoms of lead poisoning in pregnant women are

• Miscarriage, still born, neonatal death
• Reduced birth weight
• Lead passed via placenta to fetus from mom

Learn more about lead poisoning and programs that provide lead testing for your home and family 

Perinatal Depression

Most women experience “baby blues” after the baby is born that usually go away after a couple of weeks.  If these feelings do not go away, they may be symptoms of postpartum depression.  Studies have shown that some women have signs and symptoms of depression during the pregnancy as well.  Some symptoms of depression are:

• Sadness or low mood
• Feeling “down”
• Feeling worthless
• Loss of interest
• Anxiety
• Anger
• Increased /decreased sleep
• Increased/decreased appetite
• Delusions/paranoia

MomsFirst staff is trained to administer a perinatal depression screening to all program participants, called the Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale, which can determine whether or not a mom is at risk for experiencing depression.

If you or someone you know may be depressed, you should contact a mental health provider.  Here is a list of some providers that offer services to pregnant and postpartum women:

• Berea Children’s Home and Family Services, Counseling Department
  Phone Intake: 216-789-8954 
  Counseling and psychiatric services. Serves adults, teens, and children
• Connections  (formerly Northeast Ohio Health Service)
  Phone Intake: 216-761-2931 
  Psychiatric services, individual, group counseling, and case management
• Far West Center, Help for Mom 
  Phone Intake: 440-835-6212 
  Psychiatric services, individual, group counseling, and case management
  Client must be 18 years old or over
• Hispanic Behavioral Health- Center for Families and Children
  Phone Intake Only:  216-651-1860
  Spanish and English speaking psychiatric and counseling services
• Tapestry System of Care
  Phone Intake: 216-361-7760 ext. 101
  Provides access to mental health services and non-traditional supports for children and teens mental health problems 
• Mobile Crisis Team, Mental Health Services, Inc. 24 hour hotline
  Phone 216-623-6888
  Crisis and suicide hotline, face to face intervention, and referral

Prenatal Care

It’s important to get early and regular prenatal care even if you feel fine.  Why? Because most problems, if caught early, can be corrected before they become serious.  Going to your doctor or midwife regularly may prevent your baby being born too soon or too small or even dying.  Even if this is not your first pregnancy, prenatal care is critical to make sure you and your baby stay healthy.

If you are pregnant and have not started prenatal care, please contact your medical provider as soon as possible to make an appointment.

If you do not have medical insurance and would like to apply for Healthy Start Insurance, please call (216) 987-7346 or you can apply online at http://employment.cuyahogacounty.us/healthystart.htm

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) can affect the health and development of your baby.  If you think you have been exposed to an STD, it is important to get tested right away to decrease the impact it may have on your fetus.

Find out where you can get tested for STDs 

Smoking and Pregnancy

If you smoke tobacco products or have a partner who smokes and you find out that you are pregnant, it is best quit right away.  Smoking not only can cause cancer, emphysema, and other health problems for yourself, but it can cause many complications with your pregnancy such as preterm labor, having a low birth weight baby, and respiratory infections.  If you smoke, quit now!
 
If you would like help to quit, here are some resources:

• Ohio Tobacco Quit  1-800-Quit-Now or www.ohioquits.com
• Tobacco Quit Line 1-866-Quit-Yes
• American Cancer Society Fresh Start Program (216) 241-1177
• City of Cleveland Freedom from Smoking (employees only)  (216) 664-4310
• Cleveland Clinic Health System Smoking Cessation Program (216) 444-5812
• Metro Health Medical Center Freedom from Smoking (216) 778-1221 or (216) 778-7503 (Spanish)
• NEON Health Services Smoking Cessation Program (216) 231-7700 ext 11058
• Recovery Resources Freedom from Smoking (216) 932-4021