Oregon MothersCare

Early and complete prenatal care is very important for the good health of both mother and baby. In Oregon, 1 in 5 women do not receive this care as soon as they should. They should be seeing a healthcare provider during the first three months of their pregnancy.

In 1998, private and public agencies met to find a way to make sure prenatal care would be available to ALL women in Oregon during their first 3 months of pregnancy. The result of their meetings was the creation of the Oregon MothersCare Program (OMC).

This program helps women find out about and get the services they need such as:

• Pregnancy testing
  
  
• Help applying for the Oregon Health Plan
  
  
• Help making their first prenatal care appointment with a doctor, nurse practitioner or midwife
  
  
• Help making a dental appointment
  
  
• Information about the WIC program which gives them nutrition education and healthy food
  
  
• Information about Maternity Case Management services their community offers
  
  
• Other information and services that may be available to them
  
  

Oregon MothersCare started with five sites in January of 2000 and now has 28 sites as of December 2006. In 2005, the program helped 4,219 women get pregnancy and prenatal information, help, and services. Eighty-five percent of those women were able to get prenatal care in their first 3 months of pregnancy.

To find an Oregon MothersCare site near you, browse this list of sites by county or call SafeNet. If you live in the Portland Metro area (Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties ONLY) just dial 211. From anywhere else in the state call 1-800-Safenet (1-800-723-3638).

To learn more about Oregon MothersCare contact:
Kendall Johnson
Oregon Department of Human Services
kendall.johnson@state.or.us
(971) 673-0255