Photo © Courtesy of Brooklyn Perinatal Network
Brooklyn Perinatal Network: Improving the health and well-being of children, youth, parents, individuals, and families through culturally appropriate services to optimize health
In the heart of Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Perinatal Network (BPN) has been transforming the lives of expectant mothers and families parenting young children and adolescents since 1988. BPN’s dedicated team has been quietly working to address the high and rising maternal and child health disparities in communities of color in Brooklyn and beyond. Their mission is to bring attention to this issue while working to improve outcomes and the conditions in which BIPOC individuals experience their reproductive and parenting journeys.
A Life-Saving Initiative
When Brooklyn’s infant mortality rates reached an alarming high in the 1980s, the need for action was clear. BPN, formed by a community working group, took up the mantle, vowing to prevent and reduce infant and maternal illness and death through a community collective strategy to facilitate access to comprehensive social health services and prevention resources.
As BPN celebrates its 35th year of serving Brooklyn’s families, it continues working to improve the well-being of childbearing-age community members by providing access to culturally optimized services. This includes referrals for medical, social, and behavioral health services; access to free or low-cost public health insurance for children and adults; birth and postpartum doula services; Community Health Worker navigation; Peer-to-Peer support for youth and family; health education workshops for perinatal and parenting individuals.
Programs That Make A Difference
BPN’s roster of funded programs and partnership work covers a wide spectrum of actions addressing social determinants of health and inequities aiming to uplift and support families and to strengthen the community’s safety net required for addressing the holistic health needs of the community.
Health Insurance Enrollment
BPN assists individuals, families, children, and small businesses in enrolling in public health insurance programs, ensuring that everyone has access to the care they need.
Doula Services
The Healthy Women Healthy Futures Doula Program (which BPN helped to develop and coordinates citywide) provides vital support to expectant and postpartum mothers, including lactation coaching, referrals, and much more. BPN recruits and trains people interested in becoming community doulas and hires them to provide services free to those who need and request them.
NYS DOH First 1000 Days on Medicaid Maternal Infant Care Initiative (MICI) Pilot Project Downstate
The MICI Program offers navigation to access medical, social, and behavioral health services for expectant and postpartum mothers and children zero to three years; and provides maternal babies supplies.
Emotional Wellness Support
Provides access to cultural and Indigenous behavioral health services for clients and service providers, as well as related training opportunities.
Family and Youth Peer Support (FYPS)
Peer-to-Peer support offers access to resources, such as training for skills development, education, and referrals for social health and emotional wellness for children/youth zero to 24 and their families with behavioral health challenges.
Family Service Coordination
BPN’s Service Coordinator engages in one-on-one sessions conducting screenings for social and family health-related needs, connecting families to essential community services and resources.
Impact Extends Beyond Its Programs
BPN convenes the Brooklyn Coalition for Health Equity for Women and Families Leadership Team, comprising community-based organizations to address disparities in maternal health in communities of color, working collaboratively with others to pioneer system change for healthier lives.
A lifeline for many, BPN’s impact cannot be understated. Their mission is clear and impactful: to initiate community collective efforts for resource development and educate institutional and public policymakers, community leaders, advocates, and members to strengthen the safety net of services essential to promoting well-being.
With a heart full of compassion and arms open wide, BPN is working with a collective strategy to transform the lives of Brooklyn’s families, one caring gesture at a time.
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Brooklyn Perinatal Network was established in 1988 from a community task force to address high infant mortality.