Pregnancy and family support

Birth doula: Trained birth companion who offers personal support to you and your family during your pregnancy, childbirth and beyond.

Community health worker: A trusted, knowledgeable member of a community. Helps connect communities with health and social services.

Peer support specialist: Has lived experience with mental health or substance use services. Offers supportive services to you or your family if you are going through the same thing.

Peer wellness specialist: Has both lived experience with a psychiatric condition and intensive training. Works as part of a home health team that combines mental health care with primary care.

Personal health navigator: Offers information and tools to help you make the health care choices that are right for your needs.

Want to meet with a traditional health worker? Talk with your prenatal or primary care provider or behavioral health clinic (mental health or substance use treatment). They can check which traditional health workers are in our network.

Doulas registered in Oregon have completed certified training and background checks.

• Doula training: OHP requirements
• Find a registered doula: OHP registry
• Doula resources: Oregon Doula Association

Birth doula: A trained birth companion who offers support (emotional, physical or educational) to those who are pregnant: during pregnancy, delivery and beyond. Doulas may also support other family members.

Prenatal provider: A medical specialist who focuses on pregnancy and childbirth. This could be a midwife, a certified nurse midwife (CNM), a family medicine physician with training in obstetrics, or an obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/gyn).

First trimester: The beginning months of your pregnancy. It runs from conception to 12 weeks (0 to 3 months).

Second trimester: The middle stage of pregnancy. It runs from week 13 to 27
(4 to 6 months).

Third trimester: The final stage of pregnancy. It covers week 28 to 40 (7 to 9 months).

Prenatal: Anything that relates to pregnancy. For example, prenatal vitamins are special vitamins to take while pregnant. 

Postpartum: The weeks that follow childbirth — usually the first 12 weeks, but sometimes longer.

WIC: The Women, Infants and Children Program. It’s a public health program that offers healthy food and other resources for those who are pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding or responsible for a child under 5 years old. Oregon Health Plan/CareOregon members qualify for WIC benefits. Click here for more information.

Benefits. CareOregon and OHP pay for covered pregnancy-related services. There’s no cost to you for physical, dental and mental health care, prescription drugs, and certain things that support a healthy pregnancy, such as prenatal vitamins and eye exams.

We can support you in reducing or stopping use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Your primary care provider (PCP), prenatal provider and CareOregon Customer Service are glad to talk with you about this resource.

Transportation assistance. You may be eligible for help with transportation to physical, dental or mental health care services covered by OHP. Depending on your needs, this could mean help with paying for gas, transit fare or getting a vehicle-provided ride. Call Ride to Care during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m Monday through Friday, to ask if you qualify. Click here for more info on access and rules for Ride to Care.

Ride to Care: 503-416-3955 | Toll-free: 855-321-4899 | TTY: 711

Language interpretation services. Do you need an interpreter for office visits or calls with providers? You’re legally entitled to this, free of charge. Good communication with providers is always important, and even more so during pregnancy.

How to request interpretation services. When you make appointments, let your provider know you would like an interpreter. The clinic will schedule the interpretation service. Please call at least 48 hours in advance whenever possible.

Get help quitting or reducing tobacco

When you’re smoking while pregnant, your baby is smoking. You both can be free of tobacco. Talk with your primary care provider or prenatal provider about the services CareOregon offers to help you cut down or quit smoking.

Or contact Quit For Life®.

Call: Toll-free 800-784-8669 (800-QUITNOW)

Visit: quitnow.net/Oregon

Healthy food for you and your family

The Oregon WIC Program helps families get healthy food, nutrition education and more. The program supports pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding women and children under 5 years old. Dads, grandparents, foster parents or other guardians may apply for
WIC for their children.

For the African American community

Multnomah County’s Healthy Birth Initiative addresses the needs of African American women and their families, during pregnancy and after the baby is born. To apply,
call 503-988-3387.

Services are Afrocentric and available to Multnomah County residents. The initiative’s “Father/Male Involvement” activities focus on strengthening the community of
African American fathers.

Download a Healthy Birth Initiatives handout here. 

“Hey Baby” magazine

“Hey Baby”, a colorful online magazine, presents practical stories about healthy eating, physical activity, managing stress, healthy weight gain and other issues special to pregnancy.

Also in Spanish: Hola Bebé: Vida Sana para tener un Bebé Sano

Two Bright Smiles

Seeing a dentist for teeth and gum health is safe during pregnancy. It is also important to your baby’s health. CareOregon covers your dental care, and we can also help you find a dentist.

Our Two Bright Smiles brochure explains how to have healthy teeth and gums in pregnancy: English | Spanish | Arabic | Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese | Russian | Somali | Vietnamese

Healthy relationships

Do you have concerns about the physical or emotional safety of your relationship? A respectful, supportive relationship with your partner leads to better health and a longer life for you, and a better life for your child. Talk with your prenatal provider. Or contact these free resources, at any time:

• Call to Safety. Call toll-free 888-235-5333, every day, 24 hours. The people who answer the phone are kind and specially trained. They do not report, to anyone, anything you say.
• Loveisrespect.org. Send a text to trained advocates about whatever is on your mind about relationships. Loveisrespect, a nonprofit, also offers information and support to concerned friends, family and others. Text “loveis” to 22522. Open every day, 24 hours.
• myPlan app. Download this password-protected app on a smartphone, or use the website tool. It helps with safety decisions if you, or someone you care about, is experiencing abuse in an intimate relationship.

Using seatbelts and air bags
Yes, keep wearing a seatbelt! Get tips about the proper way to buckle up during pregnancy.

Child safety seats

Oregon Impact offers resources for making sure your baby’s car seat is installed the
right way.

See information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about infant and child car seats.

Text4Baby
Text4baby is a free service. It gives you timely health and safety information during pregnancy and your baby’s first year of life. (Family members and friends can also sign up if they’d like to.) Text4baby will send about three helpful tips each week, at no charge. The tips are timed to your due date.

Sign up in any of these ways:

• Text “BABY” (Or “BEBE” for Spanish) to 511411.
• Go to text4baby.org. Click the “SIGN UP” button.
• Download the free text4baby app, available for iPhone and Android.

39 Weeks Is Best for Your Baby
Some births are scheduled a little early for non-medical reasons. If your pregnancy is healthy, wait for labor to begin on its own. There are health benefits for the baby when your pregnancy lasts at least 39 weeks.

Family planning

It’s important to space pregnancies, for your health and the health of future children. It’s good to have a family planning method in place before your baby is born. Bedsider walks you through finding the method that’s best for you and your situation.

Breastfeeding support
Breastfeeding has health benefits for you and your child. Hormones help you feel calm and close to your baby. And your breastmilk passes immunities to your baby that help fight off illness.

appears to be an empty link with target http:// La Leche League of Oregon - Portland provides support for all nursing mothers.

Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon offers free breastfeeding guidance, from experienced parents, in the Portland metro area. Other services include breast pump sales and rentals, and help with planning your return to work.

Reading to babies and toddlers

Reading out loud to babies as soon as they’re born, supports their brain, language development and family bonding. Zero to three gives basic guidelines about what to expect from your young child, and tips on the books that are a good fit for your baby’s first three years.

Child vaccine schedule: Birth to 6 years
Vaccines can protect your baby from a dozen diseases. This schedule of recommended immunizations shows which vaccines are appropriate for your child at which age.

Vacunas recomendadas para niños

Help Me Grow Oregon
Free support for families who are pregnant or who have children up to 6 years old, in the tri-county metro region. Click here for more information.
503-833-4769