Moms and Babies Getting Healthy on the Go

There’s currently a desert in the state of Alabama: a maternity care desert. A county qualifies as a maternity care desert if it does not provide access to birthing hospitals, birth centers offering obstetric care, or obstetric providers. According to the March of Dimes’ 2024 report, over half of the population in Alabama has low to no access to maternal care. March of Dimes is an organization that seeks to fill in the gap and fight for the health of families. March of Dimes’ aim is simple: to “brin on-the-ground maternal health programs with services aimed at bringing support, education, and care to moms and moms-to-be, wherever they live.” One of the ways they do this is through Mom and Baby Mobile Health Centers, which are buses that offer moms preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and newborn interventions, as well as other maternal health services.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is partnering with March of Dimes to launch a mobile unit in the state of Alabama in fall of 2025. It will focus on Florence, Selma, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Anniston, and Montgomery. Billie Hamilton-Powell, RN, CNM, MPAS explained how the mobile health unit takes care of all a mom needs: “hey’re going to get an ultrasound on this bus, they’re going to get their lab work, full-scope OB care on this bus, and it’s going to be free of charge for them.” Moreover, this BCBSAL-funded mobile health center will give support, education, and healthcare to moms across rural Alabama. “We care about giving moms access to the care they need at all stages of their pregnancy. Our strong and innovative partnership with the March of Dimes will provide a gateway to affordable, quality healthcare, specifically in rural areas of Alabama,” says Sophie Martin, Director of Corporate Communications and Community Relations at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield recognizes the importance of this work and hopes to contribute to the improvement of maternal and infant health outcomes throughout the state. Ashley Toms, Executive Director, March of Dimes, speaks to the impact she foresees with this partnership: “We are uniquely positioned through purpose-driven partnerships, like with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, to serve people in underserved communities. Our Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center aims to improve birth outcomes by addressing access to care and social drivers of health, while providing wraparound clinical and community services, like nutrition, mental health, housing, and more. The Center will facilitate partnerships across multiple sectors in order to meet women and families in their communities, minimizing barriers to accessing care.” The upcoming mobile unit will help close access gaps to maternal care at all stages of moms’ pregnancies in Alabama. For more information about Blue Cross, visit alabamablue.com. For more information about March of Dimes, visit marchofdimes.org.