Philadelphia is Paying Pregnant Women $1,000 a Month to Improve Birth Rates

A new pilot program in Philadelphia offers financial support to people during pregnancy.

The Philly Joy Bank program provides $1,000 per month to 250 pregnant Philadelphians from their second trimester until the baby’s first birthday. The goal of the pilot program is to reduce racial disparities in infant mortality in the city, according to the program’s official website.

To qualify, residents must be pregnant, have a household income of less than $100,000 a year and live in one of the three Philly neighborhoods with the highest rates of very low birth weight: Cobbs Creek, Strawberry Mansion or Nicetown-Tioga. Families will also be offered voluntary assistance such as home visits, financial counseling and doula assistance, among other services.

According to recent data from the Department of Public Health, Philadelphia’s infant mortality rate is 40% higher than the national rate. Blacks and Hispanics were the two largest ethnic groups “disproportionately affected” in categories related to child mortality, such as prematurity, perinatal conditions and sleep-related deaths.

Getty Babies conceived through fertility treatments born to black women are 4 times more likely to die as newborns

Philly Joy Bank founded the Philadelphia Community Action Network (CAN) to help combat the city’s racial disparities in infant mortality rates by building community awareness and education.

“Black infants in our city are more than three times more likely than white infants to die before their first birthday,” according to the program’s website.

“It doesn’t have to be like that,” said dr. Stacey Kallem, director of the Philadelphia Department of Maternal, Child and Family Health, according to Why. “Alleviating financial stress during pregnancy can have real and positive effects on birth outcomes. And the way to relieve financial stress is actually quite simple – you give people money.”

Stock image of mom and newborn. SDI Productions / Getty Images

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So far, 111 people have signed up for the trial program, writes the Daily Mail.

$6 million in public and private funding was raised over two years to support the Philly Joy Bank program, Why reported. The recipients can use the money for whatever they need.

Program member Imani Davis said, per Why“All your money has to go into bills, all your money has to make sure you have food on the table or a roof over your head, so you might not have extra money for a pram or a crib. This is where guaranteed income will have an impact.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education