Consider these facts:

• Low birth weight babies (newborns weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces) are 40 times more likely to die during the first months of life.
• Low birth weight babies that survive are 2-3 times more likely to suffer
  from a lifelong handicap or disability.
• Low birth weight usually occurs when babies are born too early. 11% of all babies are born pre-term (prematurely, before the 40th week of pregnancy).
• 7.9% of all babies born in the U.S. have a low birth weight. But only 4.8 % of babies born to SmartStarts participants have low birth weight.

SmartStarts is proof that when a mom-to-be receives maternity education and one-on-one mentoring from a prenatal nurse, her baby is more likely to have a normal weight at birth.

SmartStarts provides expectant mothers with maternity education and one-on-one mentoring from a prenatal nurse. SmartStarts participants may call a toll-free number that allows them to speak with a MedCost prenatal nurse whenever they have a question. In addition, a prenatal nurse may make scheduled outbound calls to check up on participants at key times during their pregnancies.

SmartStarts participants receive a password that gives them online access to the educational information they are most likely to need during each trimester of their pregnancy. The SmartStarts Web site provides a wealth of helpful information, organized by pregnancy status (preparing for pregnancy, pregnancy, or after delivery). The Web site also features true success stories about moms who have used our program, special sections for dads and siblings, sources for free products and services, and links to helpful online information.

MedCost provides employers with a quarterly newsletter to share with their expectants parents. To view the latest edition of the SmartStarts newsletter, click here.

SmartStarts is a great way to help give babies a healthy and happy start in life!