Healthy Blue Kansas Marks Mother's Day by Partnering with Count the Kicks to Improve Birth Outcomes and Save Lives Across Kansas

In commemoration of this year's Mother's Day holiday, Healthy Blue Kansas is partnering with Healthy Birth Day, Inc. to raise awareness about resources that can improve birth outcomes for Kansas families. Healthy Blue Kansas has made investments to make Healthy Birth Day's Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention program and resources available to expecting families across the entire state at no charge. The Count the Kicks program teaches expectant parents a simple method to become familiar with their baby's normal movement patterns in the third trimester of pregnancy and recognize when to get help that can prevent stillbirths. This method has been proven to improve birth outcomes for moms and babies, and save lives.

"The Count the Kicks program acts as an early warning system for moms by helping them be alert to changes in their baby's normal movement patterns, which can be a sign of potential pregnancy complications," said Emily Price, CEO for Healthy Birth Day, Inc. "A baby's movements are an important sign of their well-being during pregnancy. We encourage all expectant parents to become familiar with their baby's normal movement patterns and to speak up if their baby's movements change."

After a few days of using the Count the Kicks mobile app (available in 20+ languages), web-based counting platform or counting on a paper chart, expectant parents begin to see a pattern for the normal amount of time it takes their baby to get to 10 movements. If expectant parents notice a change in the strength of their baby's movements or how long it takes their baby to reach 10 movements, they are encouraged to get checked by a healthcare provider right away.

"The health of the birthing parent and baby is closely intertwined, and a simple change in a baby's normal movement pattern can serve as a red flag," said Bryan Baier, president of Healthy Blue Kansas. "That's why Healthy Blue Kansas is proud of this initiative to bring the innovative solutions of Count the Kicks to our state. This initiative empowers Kansans to improve birth outcomes and save lives."

As part of this initiative, educators, health providers and agencies across Kansas can order Count the Kicks educational materials at no charge to help them enlighten expectant parents about their baby's normal movement patterns. Healthy Blue Kansas is promoting this effort in Kansas to bring about change, much like the success the Count the Kicks program witnessed in Iowa, where efforts resulted in a 30 percent reduction in the state's stillbirth rate over 10 years.

The U.S. is facing a maternal health crisis with more than 15 percent of all maternal deaths occurring in women who have experienced a stillbirth. Stillbirth is defined as the loss of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Every year, more than 21,000 U.S. families, including 232 families in Kansas, experience the pain of losing a baby in the final weeks of pregnancy. Racial disparities continue to exist, and families of Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander descent face significantly higher risks of experiencing a stillbirth. But it doesn't have to be this way. Research shows at least 25 percent of stillbirths can be prevented, so Healthy Blue Kansas is funding the launch of Count the Kicks in Kansas to address issues and give every Kansas baby a healthy start to life.

Thanks to this initiative, maternal health providers, birthing hospitals, social services agencies, childbirth educators and other care providers across Kansas can order Count the Kicks educational materials free of charge at CountTheKicks.org. Healthy Blue Kansas strongly urges all professionals working with expectant parents to order these free resources, distribute them among families and join the cause to save lives.

ABOUT COUNT THE KICKS

The Count the Kicks public health program is a project of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of stillbirth. Count the Kicks has a growing network of supportive doctors, nurses, hospitals and clinics in more than 25 states that give Count the Kicks materials to expectant parents. Count the Kicks has been featured on Good Morning America, The Washington Post, Sunday Night Football, and in O Magazine, and produced a national PSA that has generated more than 300 million viewer impressions. The free Count the Kicks app has more than 300,000 registered users in all 50 states and more than 140 countries. Learn more about our vision to save 7,500 babies every year and improve birth outcomes everywhere at CountTheKicks.org.

ABOUT HEALTHY BLUE KANSAS

Healthy Blue Kansas is a collaboration of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) and Anthem Partnership Holding Company, LLC (APHC), which was formed specifically to serve Medicaid enrollees. APHC has 30 years of Medicaid experience through its parent and affiliated companies. They serve more than 11 million Medicaid enrollees across 25 markets, including Medicaid members with specialized needs similar to those of the KanCare population. Their Medicaid expertise ? combined with the strong and longstanding provider relationships held by BCBSKS and Blue KC across all 105 counties ? would position Healthy Blue to infuse both innovation and accountability to the KanCare program if selected as a new managed care organization when the state conducts a procurement this year. For more information, visit www.healthybluekansas.com.