Maternal and Child Health Division

Overview

The health of pregnant families and their babies before, during and after birth is important to the City of Hartford. Parents who do not have health services or access to health services while pregnant can miss learning about medical issues that can impact a pregnancy, like a mother having high blood pressure or the baby being born too early or too small.

Since 1980, we expanded our maternal and child health services (MCH) to monitor those issues that may be creating challenges for pregnant families to carry their pregnancies full term. MCH has home visiting services to support families so they may have a healthy pregnancy and learn more about healthy lifestyle changes to support keeping their families safe and healthy. With the goal of promoting and improving the health of mothers, fathers, and children in Hartford, the MCH Division offers services to parents, children and their families through a variety of free-of-charge and coordinated programs.

Maternal and Infant Outreach Program (MIOP)

MIOP provides expecting parents with pregnancy education, intensive case management and linkages to community resources/supports. When baby is delivered parents and their babies are provided with milestone development screenings, post-partum health education/screenings, breastfeeding support and continued linkages to programs and services that will strengthen the family. Support is also provided to parents to identify and start working toward personal goals. Our goal is to help parents and their babies by removing barriers that can impact the pregnancy and babies experience in the first year of life. For more information please feel free to contact (860) 757-4820.

Federal Healthy Start

Healthy Start provides parents who reside in Hartford with support to secure health insurance and access to health care services, complete health risks screenings and pregnancy education. After the baby has been delivered, we provide ongoing case management services, breastfeeding support resources, milestone development screenings up through the baby’s second birthday. Our goal is to help parents remove barriers and support family planning so that parents can return to work/school or complete personal goals. For more information please feel free to contact (860) 757-4817.

Women, Infant and Children (WIC)

WIC is a supplemental nutrition program that serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk. WIC provides nutritional assessment and education, breastfeeding education and support, referrals to health care and nutritious foods to supplement diets.

In addition to the services listed above, it is the goal of the MCH Division to address the root causes of reproductive health inequities by working in partnership with organizations and policy makers to change the trend of current social determinants such as inadequate access to contraceptives and sexual and reproductive health education and sexual behavioral determinants such as lack of knowledge, contraceptive use and gender norms. It is the division's goal to works toward the development of a comprehensive and integrated health system to optimize family, reproductive, and maternal and child health outcomes. For questions about the program or questions about the Coventry Street site, please call (860) 757-4780.  If you would like to reach the Main Street site, please call (860) 757-4860.

Read More About WIC

Hartford Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (HTPPI)

A federally-funded initiative, this collaborative program started in 2010 and is aimed at reducing teen pregnancy rates among Hartford teens by 10% by 2020. The initiative works with various community partners, including schools, afterschool programs, faith-based organizations, and health clinics to reduce the rates of pregnancy, STIs and HIV in 13-19 year olds in the City of Hartford. For more information about the initiative, please contact HHS at (860) 757-4743.