Health Care : Current Reviews

Building Effective Partnerships to Improve Birth Outcomes by Reducing Obesity: the B'more Fit for Healthy Babies Coalition of Baltimore

Global Healthcare & Fitness Summit

July 20-22, 2015 San Francisco, USA

Stacey Tuck

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Health Care: Current Reviews

Abstract:

Obesity affects a large percentage of Baltimore City’s population with repercussions for maternal health and birth
outcomes including an increased susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, gestational and type 2 diabetes, preeclampsia,
and caesarean delivery. The B’more Fit for Healthy Babies Coalition was created in response to the growing obesity rates
among women, particularly those residing in low-resource urban neighborhoods in Baltimore. The coalition- part of the
comprehensive B’more for Healthy Babies infant mortality strategy- is serving as a catalyst for obesity risk reduction strategies
for Baltimore’s most vulnerable reproductive-age women and their families. Partners include academic, community, private,
and government organizations such as the federal Office on Women’s Health, the Baltimore City Health Department, Family
League of Baltimore, Inc., Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, etc. The coalition has produced a strategic plan, which
includes a tailored, evidence-based intervention featuring group weight counseling and exercise sessions for English and Spanish
speaking postpartum women, logistical support, community engagement activities, and a trauma-informed care approach.
The coalition can boast of these successes: over 90% attendance from Coalition partners since 2010; enrollment of over 510
women; receipt of approximately 1.7 million dollars in funding, and progress toward HP2020 goals. In this session, we will
examine the coalition’s evolution, formation of our public health alliance, programmatic and policy-level strategies, coalition
evaluation efforts, and lessons learned about public/private partnerships. This presentation will highlight the complexity of
working together to improve maternal health outcomes and find solutions to a major public health concern.

Biography :

Stacey Tuck, the Director of the B’more Fit for Healthy Babies program, is humbled and excited to see the health improvements that program participants are
making. Mrs. Tuck has close to 20 years of Maternal and Child Health experience in program development and monitoring, health education/promotion, and fiscal
administration. She has raised or managed approximately 15 million dollars in program funds, assisted in the development of media campaigns, and presented
program findings at national conferences. Mrs. Tuck earned her Master of Health Sciences from Towson University in 2002 and a Bachelor’s degree in communication
sciences from Northwestern University in 1994.