AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania, a Medicaid health plan, will host a special community baby shower, sponsored by its Bright Start® program, to help expectant mothers have safe pregnancies and healthy babies. Bright Start®, a maternal health program for AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania pregnant members, provides expectant mothers health information, nutrition advice, and help in choosing an obstetrician (OB) doctor or a nurse midwife for their prenatal care. Each mom-to-be attending the community baby shower will also receive a gift bag that will contain items that all new moms and babies will need. Bright Start® is designed to improve birth outcomes and reduce pregnancy-related complications through early prenatal education and intervention. The baby showers also allow the health plan to build collaborative relationships with community-based organizations that specialize in services for maternal health.
In 2025, Pennsylvania received a "C" grade on the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card for its preterm birth rate of 9.7%. In Erie County, the preterm birth rate was 10.7%. During 2022-2024 (average) in Pennsylvania, preterm birth rates were highest for Black infants (13.8%), followed by Hispanics (10.4%), whites (8.7%) and Asians (8.5%). Premature or preterm birth is a birth with less than 37 weeks gestation based on the obstetric estimate of gestational age. A growing number of studies indicate that Medicaid expansion has reduced the rate of women of childbearing age who are uninsured, improved health outcomes and helped to reduce disparities, including lower rates of premature birth and low birthweight for Black infants in expansion states.
Thursday, Sept. 17 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. Salvation Army 1022 Liberty Street Erie, PA 16502
