Maternal Child Health - Perinatal Pathways
Dedicated support from the first OB visit through your baby’s first weeks
Perinatal Pathways is the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod Maternal Child Health (MCH) nursing program dedicated to supporting parents and newborns across Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Southern Plymouth County. Our specialized VNA nurses provide home visits where they can answer questions, offer infant feeding support, perform health assessments on both parent and baby, and act as a liaison between the family and pediatricians’ office.
All MCH services are offered in-language with the assistance of our interpreter services team. While select patient groups will automatically be enrolled in to this program, our Maternal Child Health services are available to all families who reside in Barnstable, Nantucket, Southern Plymouth and Dukes County - regardless of where you gave birth.
The Maternal Child Health's Perinatal Pathways programs includes:
- Prenatal visits (general and at-risk)
- Postpartum visits
- Baby Wellness Clinics at A Baby Center in Hyannis
- Perinatal Loss Support Groups - offered in partnership with Sharing Kindness, a local non-profit which offers peer grief support programs.
- Gestational Diabetes teaching with our Public Health Community Diabetes Educator
- Group exercise programs such as the Stroll the Cape walking group, Little Riders or Moms in Motion
- Lactation Support Group at the Nantucket Family Resource Center
- Perinatal Mood Disorder support
Through these home services, we're able to offer patients reassuring support throughout their birth journey, in addition to on-going care with their obstetrics provider.
Prenatal Support
Perinatal Pathways offers the following prenatal services:
- Information about pregnancy and postpartum
- Individualized assessment of needs and concerns
- Nutrition education
- Mental health education
- Connection with appropriate community resources
Postpartum Support
The postpartum home visits include:
- Assessment of mother and baby health – including vital signs
- Baby weight checks
- Specialized feeding support via certified lactation counselors
- Exercise programs specifically geared towards prenatal and postnatal mothers
Prenatal and postpartum mental health checks provide a unique opportunity to detect any mental health concerns. Our MCH nurses have attended Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder (PMADS) training, providing them with the education to gauge any changes in a mother’s behavior. Our team is then able to offer education to a mother and their support system on what to be aware of and how to access help if needed.
Out-of-Home Support
To reduce any patient concerns of hosting clinical staff in their homes, the MCH team also offers weekly office hours, at “A Baby Center” in Hyannis, where new and expectant mothers can receive support in an out-of-home setting.
These clinic hours will be held the first Tuesday of the month from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and bi-lingual staff (Spanish and Portuguese) will be present to assist with non-English speaking families. Please contact our team directly at 508-957-7423 or via our convenient website form with any questions.
Perinatal Loss Support Groups
The VNA of Cape Cod MCH program has partnered with the local non-profit, Sharing Kindness, to provide a virtual perinatal loss support group held on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. These clinician-led peer support groups provide an inclusive and welcoming space for bereaved parents to process their grief and build community through the shared experience of loss.
Please contact our team directly at 508-957-7423 or register here.
