Magnolia Health's Start Smart for Your Baby® Program Harnesses Data to Improve Newborns' Health

Program enhancements allow Magnolia Health to provide better care management, care coordination, and health education to improve maternal and infant health

JACKSON, Miss., April 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnolia Health (Magnolia) details enhancements to its Start Smart for Your Baby® program, an initiative designed to improve maternal and newborn health and reduce the risk of birth defects. Using consumer data and analytics, Magnolia can now better identify mothers-to-be and encourage participation in the program, thereby reducing pregnancy complications, pre-term and low-birth-weight deliveries, and infant disease.

In 2020, preterm birth affected about one of every 10 infants born in the United States, while one in eight infants covered by Medicaid is born premature. (Births covered by Medicaid account for more than 40 percent of all babies born in the U.S.) Babies born prematurely may have long-term health problems, including increased risk of:

• Cerebral palsy
• Blindness
• Deafness
• Developmental delay
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Metabolic syndrome
• Obesity

Magnolia's Start Smart for Your Baby program, an evidence-based initiative that's now more than 13 years old, provides health education and tips that pregnant people can follow to help improve maternal and newborn health and reduce the risk of birth defects. Its new risk model, based on machine learning data science, is more accurate and helps identify candidates for the program and their risk for delivering low-birth-weight babies earlier, thus increasing their probability of a healthier birth outcome. Prior to the technological updates, Magnolia was largely reliant on a provider's notification that he or she was caring for a pregnant member to begin the enrollment process for the birthing parent-to-be. The data and analyses also offer more robust insights so that Magnolia can provide targeted support, including clinical guidance for members throughout their pregnancies, transportation support and perinatal depression screening, and additional one-on-one interventions.

"Magnolia remains committed to providing support and care to expectant parents and newborns who need it every step of the way," said Dr. Jeremy Erwin, Chief Medical Director, Magnolia Health. "By enhancing our Start Smart for Your Baby Program to help better identify new birthing parents at risk of adverse birth outcomes, we can provide our pregnant members individualized support sooner for a healthier pregnancy experience."

Centene and its health plans, including Magnolia, manage over 200,000 deliveries each year. Approximately 30 percent of these deliveries are high-risk, and 30 percent of the high-risk deliveries are engaged in care management. Identifying high-risk pregnant members and intervening early can lead to better birth outcomes. As participation in the Start Smart for Your Baby® Program has increased, the number of low- and very-low-birth-weight deliveries have decreased, with very low birth weight rates dropping by more than 30 percent across Centene health plans. The Start Smart for Your Baby program has demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the health of both the birthing parent and the baby during pregnancy and the birth outcome.  The program has achieved significant financial cost savings – estimated to be more than $50 million annually.

Start Smart for Your Baby is a cornerstone of Magnolia's suite of innovative medical programs. The program incorporates care management, care coordination, and health education to improve maternal and infant health. Members enrolled in the program have access to:

• Educational materials and incentives for attending prenatal, postpartum, and well-child visits.
• Community resources and support.
• Help finding a doctor and setting up appointments.
• Special assistance to high-risk members enrolled in the OB care management program.
• A personal nursing staff and a 24/7 nurse advice line.
• Robust text and email campaigns for tips on pregnancy and newborn care.
• Assistance with transportation to and from appointments.
• A supplemental breastfeeding program for services and support.

For more about Magnolia's commitment to improving maternal and infant health, visit www.magnoliahealthplan.com.

Magnolia Health is a long-term solution to help the state of Mississippi enhance care for Medicaid recipients, while most effectively managing taxpayer dollars. A physician-driven, Mississippi-based Coordinated Care Organization (CCO), Magnolia is backed by its parent company, Centene Corporation (Centene). Centene has more than 30 years of experience in Medicaid and other government-funded programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and long-term care. For more information about Magnolia, visit www.magnoliahealthplan.com. 

SOURCE Magnolia Health