Purpose for the program: Stork Support is a pregnancy navigation program established to provide women with evidence-based resources and information to assist them in achieving healthy outcomes for themselves and their babies.  This innovative program provides comprehensive perinatal education and post-partum follow-up care.  The 1:1 relationship between the nurse and client establishes a personal bond.  Women are able to make informed decisions for labor management, breastfeeding, infant care, and self-care after participating in the Stork Program. 

Proposed change: The Stork Support Program has changed the way women gain knowledge about pregnancy, post-partum, and infant care. 

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation: A March of Dimes grant supported the implementation of the program.  Enrollment in the program is voluntary and can begin at any time during the pregnancy. Mother-baby nurses make an initial phone call at the time of enrollment to explain the program and obtain information about the pregnancy.  Additional contacts are made during and after the pregnancy and consist of 1:1 conversations and support.  Pregnancy outcomes are collected in a database and a patient survey is provided to all patients in the program during the post-partum hospital stay. Analyses of behavior changes, number of elective induction prior to 39 weeks gestation, smoking cessation success, and breastfeeding at time of discharge are key components of the evaluation of the program.       

Implications for nursing practice: The Stork Support Program has demonstrated that nursing can impact pregnancy outcomes by providing women with evidence-based knowledge to improve decision-making, to change behaviors, and to take an active role in healthy outcomes for themselves and their newborns.     

Keywords:  Prenatal education, Pregnancy navigation and support, Post-partum care, Relationship-based care.