title: Babies Need Healthy Moms: an innovative postpartum screening and education class for women who had gestational diabetes mellitus.
abstract: Healthy Babies Need Healthy Moms (HBNHM) is an innovative education program that combines the recommended 2-hour postpartum oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with diabetes prevention education for women who had gestational diabetes mellitus. During the class, the 2-hour OGTT is performed, and in the time between venipunctures, the women participate in group education focused on evidence-based diabetes prevention strategies that promote healthy family nutrition and lifestyle behavior, importance of preconception care for subsequent pregnancies, and the need for follow-up care for women who screen positive for abnormal glucose levels. The purpose of this article is to describe this model to encourage replication in other diabetes programs.
  
  
  
  The HBNHM program is a low-budget education program that provides postpartum OGTT screening for women who had gestational diabetes mellitus during their pregnancies while simultaneously offering education designed to improve future outcomes. For those women whose screening is positive for overt diabetes or prediabetes, the educational strategies are directed at encouraging follow-up care. For those patients who have normal screening results, the program is designed to help the patient prevent the future development of type 2 diabetes. Preconception counseling is included in an effort to improve outcomes in future pregnancies and provide patients with the tools needed to help enhance the health of their families.
authors: North Shore University Hospital–Maternal Fetal Medicine, Great Neck, New York
authors: Marie A
authors: MA
authors: Frazzitta
authors: North Shore University Hospital–Maternal Fetal Medicine, Great Neck, New York
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Anderson
authors: North Shore University Hospital–Maternal Fetal Medicine, Great Neck, New York
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Egan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose