Mississippi Delta Partnership in Public Health
Research
The Right! From the Start Initiative
The Right! From the Start (R!FTS) Initiative is recognized in the community for its strong focus on maternal and child health. Through its continued support by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the initiative has become a value-added brand steeped in community engagement. Building upon the knowledge gained and the relationships established while implementing the NICU Breastfeeding Initiative through care coordination with a multidisciplinary team of social workers, community health workers (CHWs) and lactation specialists, R!FTS will be leveraging strategic partnerships with community health centers to expand the care coordination system and address health conditions affecting pregnant women that contribute to preterm birth. This includes inadequate prenatal care, chronic disease conditions, environmental exposures, toxic stress, and psychosocial and behavioral health issues. With strategic partnerships including the Community Foundation of Northwest MS (CFNM), University of Mississippi Center for Population Studies (CPS), the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Aaron E. Henry Health Services Center and Delta Health Center, the R!FTS will develop a perinatal intervention for families in the Mississippi Delta to decrease the impact of toxic stress on parents and infants and support healthy development. This intervention will be a combination of home visits and interactions with moms visiting the clinics for prenatal, obstetric, and pediatric visits.