Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) for Healthy Start Programs

Evidence-based practices include actions, activities, strategies, or approaches that improve the health of women, before, during, and after pregnancy in order to improve birth outcomes and give infants up to age two years a healthy start. Also included in the collection are informational materials and tools that make it easier to implement evidence-based practices. To search by title, use the main search box located at the top of this page.


Mothers and Babies

Mothers and Babies (MB) is a program that promotes healthy mood management by teaching pregnant women and new moms how to effectively respond to stress in their lives through increasing the frequency of thoughts and behaviors that lead to positive mood states. Designed as a perinatal depression prevention, the Mothers and Babies targets three specific risk factors: limited social support, lack of pleasant activities, and harmful thought patterns. Mothers and Babies offers a “toolkit” of approaches for women to observe their mood, note factors affecting their mood, and make changes in their daily lives to impact these areas. Based on principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), attachment theory, and psychoeducation, the Mothers and Babies Course is designed to be delivered by clinic- or community-based providers from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, and can be delivered as a group intervention or as a one-on-one intervention in various settings where pregnant women access services (e.g. prenatal clinics, home visiting programs, WIC programs, County Health Departments, etc.).

Topics:

Depression Home Visiting Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Mental Health Parenting Education Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: I. Evidence-based practices—have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective by MCH experts.

STDs and Pregnancy – The Facts

This colorful and easy-to-read patient brochure can be downloaded or ordered for free from the CDC. It discusses the effects of STDs on pregnancy and the importance of being tested for STDs before and/or during pregnancy. It reviews the preventive measures women can take to avoid contracting an STD before or during pregnancy and emphasizes the importance of being treated during pregnancy if required.

Topics:

Prenatal Care and Education STDs including HIV

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

HIV and Pregnancy

This patient handout in the form of questions and answers is designed to inform pregnant women and women planning a pregnancy about the risks of HIV infection during pregnancy. It covers the basics of HIV infection, its potential risks to pregnant women and their babies, and how these risks can be minimized with early diagnosis, certain preventive measures, and HIV treatment.

Topics:

Prenatal Care and Education STDs including HIV

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit: Resources from the Field

This toolkit presents a compilation of resources that highlight the challenges and key issues associated with launching and sustaining a successful fatherhood program. It covers topics such as: building an effective fatherhood program,effectively engaging fathers, cultivating community partners, recruiting and training staff, serving fathers with specific barriers, and promoting sustainability. The toolkit provides tips and suggestions from experienced practitioners, activities for use with fathers in one-to-one or group sessions, tools from model programs to use and share with fathers, and other helpful resources.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Rural Behavioral Health: Telehealth Challenges and Opportunities

This brief looks at common acceptability, availability, and accessibility barriers to mental and substance use disorder (behavioral health) treatment and services in rural communities and presents ways telehealth can help surmount some of these barriers. The term telehealth refers to using internet and communications technologies, such as videoconferencing, chat, and text messaging, to provide health information and treatments in real time.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Depression

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Pregnancy & Opioids: What families need to know about opioid misuse and treatment during pregnancy

This guide provides information and resources for family members and friends on specific ways to support pregnant women with opioid use disorders, and help them to get the prenatal care, substance use treatment and other supports they need during pregnancy and postpartum.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Case Management/Care Coordination Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Perinatal Depression Follow Up Usual Source of Care

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

2018 Prevention Resource Guide

This prevention resource guide offers information, strategies, and resources to support community service providers as they work with parents, caregivers, and children to prevent child maltreatment and promote social and emotional well-being. The guide focuses on protective factors that build on family strengths and promote optimal child and youth development. Information about protective factors is augmented with tools and strategies that help providers, advocates and policymakers integrate the factors into community programs and systems. The guide includes tip sheets for parents in English and Spanish on a range of parenting and child development topics.

Topics:

Intimate Partner Violence Life Course Model Parenting Education Partner Involvement Socio-emotional Development for Children

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Intimate Partner Violence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Bringing Fathers In Fact Sheets

This set of 9 fact sheets for programs that serve families makes the case and provides implementation tips for fully and effectively engaging fathers. The fact sheets describe the importance of involved fathers for improving maternal and child health outcomes, supporting children’s early learning and reducing family and community violence. They also provide best practice do’s and don’ts, tips for attracting fathers to programs, and father-inclusive evaluation strategies.

Topics:

Participant Recruitment and Retention Partner Involvement

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Father/Partner Parenting Involvement Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Safe Homes, Safe Babies: Perinatal Safety Card

Safe Homes, Safe Babies is a safety card for women that perinatal health care providers can distribute to patients. In addition to providing safety resources for women, this tool also functions as a prompt for perinatal health care providers by providing quick phrases to improve discussions with women about the impact of domestic violence on their parenting and children. The safety card outlines questions women may ask themselves about their relationships, birth control use and parenting, while offering supportive messages and referrals to national support services for help.

Topics:

Depression Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Intimate Partner Violence Perinatal Depression Screening

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

ACOG Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Prevention Program

The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Prevention Program is a collaboration between ACOG and the CDC designed to empower healthcare providers to speak with their patients about abstaining from alcohol use during pregnancy. The program includes evidence-based ACOG Committee Opinions regarding ethics, alcohol use in pregnancy, and motivational interviewing techniques, as well as videos and free downloadable materials for both providers and patients.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services

Approaches:

Benchmarks:

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

SmokefreeMOM

SmokefreeMOM is a mobile text messaging service designed for pregnant women across the United States to help them quit smoking. The program provides 24/7 encouragement, advice, and tips to help pregnant women and mothers quit smoking and stay quit. The messages in the program have been designed around not only a women’s quit date but also their child’s birthdate. The frequency of messages will vary depending on smoking status. Users can receive additional quit support by texting one of the SmokefreeMOM keywords.

Topics:

Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Smoking Abstinence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

MothertoBaby

MothertoBaby is the leading authority providing up-to-date, evidence-based information to mothers, healthcare professionals, and the general public regarding the effects of medications and other exposures on pregnancy and breastfeeding. The website contains fact sheets in English and Spanish covering the risks of over 50 pharmaceuticals (listed alphabetically), herbal products, and other common lifestyle and occupational exposures. Excellent sections on tobacco, alcohol, and mood-altering drugs are included, as well as information on the safety of vaccines during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Experts are also available to answer individual questions confidentially by telephone, email, or text.

Topics:

Alcohol/Drug Services Breastfeeding Immunization Prenatal Care and Education Risk Assessment Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Smoking Abstinence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

New Benefits for Breastfeeding Moms: Facts and Tools to Understand Your Coverage under the Health Care Law

This toolkit is designed for women, advocates, community-based organizations, and health care providers to provide information on the coverage of breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling in the health care law (Affordable Care Act) and offer tools to women who encounter problems with this coverage. The toolkit also includes detailed instructions on how to call insurance companies, how to file an appeal if the plan denies coverage, and provides draft appeal letters tailored to commonly encountered scenarios.

Topics:

Breastfeeding Insurance Coverage

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Initiating Breastfeeding Sustaining Breastfeeding

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Baby Basics

Baby Basics is a set of materials (book, planner, posters) and programs designed specifically to provide lower-income and lower-literacy populations with crucial prenatal health information and support. The materials are designed to be beautiful and easy to read, serving as a catalyst for learning and family literacy. Both materials and programs strive to engage and educate underserved parents to become effective users of the healthcare system and advocate for themselves and their families.

Topics:

Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health Promote Quality Strengthen Family Resilience

Benchmarks:

Birth Spacing Father/Partner Prenatal Involvement Initiating Breastfeeding Postpartum Visit Safe Sleep Sustaining Breastfeeding Well Child Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership

Medical‐legal partnership (MLP) is an approach to health that integrates the work of healthcare, public health, and civil legal aid to more effectively identify, treat, and prevent health‐harming legal needs for patients, clinics, and populations. MLP addresses legal needs in the areas of income supports and insurance; housing and utilities; employment and education; legal status; and personal and family stability. MLP:

  • Trains healthcare, public health, and legal teams to work collaboratively and identify needs upstream;
  • Treats individual patients’ health‐harming social and legal needs with legal care ranging from triage and consultations to legal representation;
  • Transforms clinic practice and institutional policies to better respond to patients’ health‐harming social and legal needs; and
  • Prevents health‐harming legal needs broadly by detecting patterns and improving policies and regulations that have an impact on population health. 

Topics:

Case Management/Care Coordination Insurance Coverage Other Risk Assessment

Approaches:

Achieve Collective Impact Improve Women's Health

Benchmarks:

CAN Implementation Health Insurance

Evidence Rating: II. Promising practices—Innovative practices employed in the field, based on state-of-science knowledge about what works to improve outcomes, and gathering evidence of effectiveness.

Health Insurance Marketplace

This is the official government website where participants can find out if they qualify for health insurance, what their options are, and what assistance may be available to them (including Medicaid and CHIP). They can then proceed to apply for insurance at this site

Topics:

Insurance Coverage

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health

Benchmarks:

Health Insurance

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

ImmunizationforWomen.org

This website, with tabs for both providers and patients, provides current recommendations on immunizations for women. It includes information on vaccines for specific conditions, timing regimens, safety, and guidelines for use in pregnancy.

Topics:

Immunization

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health

Benchmarks:

Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

CDC’s Recommendations for Vaccines for Pregnant Women

The CDC offers vaccination recommendations for preconception/interconception, prenatal, and postpartum women. An Immunization and Pregnancy Vaccine Flyer, recommended immunizations schedule, and vaccine quiz are all available online. The influenza vaccine is recommended for all women, including pregnant women.

Topics:

Immunization

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health

Benchmarks:

Well Woman Visits

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Why the Last Weeks of Pregnancy Count

A variety of bilingual materials explain why it is important not to schedule an induction or Cesarean section for non-medical reasons before 39 weeks gestation. Fetal growth and development in the last few weeks of pregnancy is highlighted.

Topics:

Prenatal Care and Education

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Reducing Early Elective Deliveries

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Smokefree MOM, women.smokefree.gov

Women.smokefree.gov includes resources for women at any stage hoping to quit smoking tobacco, and has an entire section devoted to pregnant women and mothers. Smokefree MOM is a free texting service that provides tips, advice, and support for pregnant mothers in the process of quitting smoking.

Topics:

Tobacco Cessation

Approaches:

Promote Quality

Benchmarks:

Smoking Abstinence

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.

Getting the Coverage You Deserve: What to Do If You Are Charged a Co-Payment, Deductible, or Co-Insurance for a Preventive Service

This toolkit provides information on women’s preventive health services covered under the Affordable Care Act, and tools women can use if they encounter problems with this coverage. Includes templates for appeal letters to insurance companies in case of being wrongfully charged co-pays or deductibles for preventive services, birth control, breastfeeding counseling, BRCA testing, colonoscopy, or well-woman visits.

Topics:

Insurance Coverage

Approaches:

Improve Women's Health

Benchmarks:

Health Insurance

Evidence Rating: III. Expert guidelines—Protocols, standards of practice, or recommendations based on expert consensus.