PRIZE FOR PRENATAL INNOVATION

More than one-third of births in Washington, DC, receive no prenatal care in the first trimester, according to the city’s Department of Health. That number is not much better in neighboring Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, where 29-30% of women didn’t receive prenatal care during their first trimesters. In Arlington County, VA, 1 in 5 births in the county lacked care in the first trimester — a number that is worse than the state average.

The first trimester can be a critical time for doctors to catch chronic health conditions of the mother that could affect the health of both mom and baby. In the second and third trimesters, too many economically vulnerable moms also miss prenatal appointments because of lack of flexibility with work, childcare concerns or problems with transportation. We want to change that.

By launching this inaugural $25,000 Prize for Prenatal Innovation, the Jennifer Bush-Lawson Foundation seeks to uncover and support forward-thinking solutions that have the potential to improve access to prenatal care for low-income women in the greater Washington, DC area.

Do you have a new, creative or simply smart idea that can change the state of prenatal care for low-income women in the DC region? Apply today!

JB-LF welcomes applications from any nonprofit, government or for-profit entity that has an innovative or creative project targeting prenatal care for economically disadvantaged women in the DC area, with a preference for projects that are measurable and have the potential to scale. Projects can tackle any or all trimesters of prenatal care. Applications are now open and the deadline to apply is February 28, 2019. Our three-judge panel of experts and practitioners will then review applications in March and April 2019, with finalists expected to be announced in early May 2019 and a winner in late May/early June 2019.*

Interested in supporting this work? Consider an individual donation or corporate underwriting of this Prize. Our work is done through the generosity of our community, to benefit our most vulnerable members.

       

*Timeline subject to change based on the number of applications received.