Each year, thousands of women are referred to the BWH for its renown as a world-class Obstetrics Hospital, especially for women facing high-risk pregnancies. Among those women who are at high risk are hundreds of women from the communities surrounding the BWH who struggle with housing insecurity, homelessness, poverty, food insecurity, domestic violence and limited financial resources. All those factors impact their health, pregnancy outcomes, and the health of their babies. In 2016, Dr. Roseanna Means, senior faculty member in the Division of Women’s Health, and an internationally recognized expert on health care for homeless women, conceived of and created the Bridges to Moms Program (BTM) at the BWH. BTM was designed specifically to assist vulnerable women who receive maternity care at the BWH. By focusing on filling in gaps in social determinants of health (conditions that affect health such as housing, safety, food, transportation, and health access), Dr. Means and her team have transformed birth outcomes, improved health equity, established greater continuity in primary care and the entire life trajectories of these moms and their babies.
Since 2016, Bridges to Moms has helped over 500 women close multiple gaps in health care and social determinants of health. Over 90% of the women referred to BTM each year are women of color. This has been a consistent aspect of the program since its inception and why BTM is so important at the BWH as an example of how we put our DEI goals into action. In 2022, Spanish (43%) followed English (54%) as the primary language of our patients. All our outreach staff are bilingual in English and Spanish. Despite maternal mortality being 3-5 times higher in women of color, since our program began in 2016, none of the mothers we have cared for has died. The moms enrolled in BTM attend nearly all of their prenatal appointments, over 90% are successfully connected to primary care, and although the ones whose babies went to the NICU had sicker babies than moms in a comparison group, the BTM babies went home sooner or at least as soon as the comparison group babies did. Compared to several comparison groups, both at the BWH and at other Boston hospitals, Bridges to Moms outcomes have been impressive.
Bridges to Moms at the BWH relies on grants and philanthropic support for many of its operations and tangibles for the women such as meal tickets, rides and cab vouchers, diapers, grocery store gift cards and other items. It is unimaginable that so many hundreds of women right in our back yards face pregnancy and motherhood with so many challenges, not the least of them being not knowing where they can take their newborn home to and whether they will have to face this journey alone. Their courage and resiliency are an inspiration to everyone on the Bridges to Moms/BWH team. You can be part of this extraordinary program by donating to the Bridges to Moms Fund.
Brigham Medical Specialties Clinic
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
Dr. Roseanna Means, Director
RMeans@bwh.harvard.edu
Research Program of the Division of Women’s Health
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
75 Francis Street, Boston MA 02115