Women’s & Pre-Maternal Health
We are committed to providing wellness resources to families and children before birth, through the end of life. Our services include pre-maternal support and cancer screening.
Pre-Maternal Home
To minimize any health risk to moms and their newborns, expectant mothers must travel to Bethel, one month prior to their due date, to await arrival of their baby. A certified and licensed care facility, the YKHC Pre-Maternal Home provides residence for expectant mothers, or moms with sick infant children (under the age of one), who are waiting or receiving care at our Bethel hospital.
Thanks to a $12.6 million state capital appropriation in 2011, YKHC built a new 32-bed Pre-Maternal Home which opened in 2014.
Women’s Care & Support Center
Located next to the Pre-Maternal Home, the Women’s Care + Support Center houses the women’s health case management staff and Centering Pregnancy prenatal care sessions. Women in the Centering Pregnancy program learn skills and health education information to make for healthier pregnancies, babies and families. This includes information about pregnancy, preparing for childbirth, newborn care and parenting, family dynamics before and after the birth of a child, domestic violence awareness, postpartum depression, exercise and stress-relieving techniques. Participants also have higher rates of breastfeeding.
Women, Infants, & Children (WIC)
WIC is a federally-funded program that provides healthy food, nutrition counseling, and access to health services to low-income women, infants, and children. Eligible women can apply for WIC as soon as they find out they are pregnant. To learn more or download an application, visit the Women, Infant and Children’s program on the State of Alaska website. Applications are also available at YKHC clinics.
The YKHC WIC department supports YK Delta families and works closely with vendors in our remote communities to make sure they are stocked with the foods WIC provides. In communities that do not offer WIC foods in their local stores, we are able to send boxes of food to WIC participants each month.
Women’s Health Cancer Screening
Our Women’s Health Program is funded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). The program provides free mammograms, pap tests, and clinical breast exams to eligible women. We have been participating in the NBCCEDP since October 2003.
Breast cancer rates are much lower in Alaska Natives in the YK Delta (at 7.7%) than all Alaska Natives (at 15.4%). A mammogram is the best breast cancer screening tool, finding cancer up to three years before it can be felt. YKHC recommends a mammogram at least every two years for women between the ages of 45 and 69.
Cervical cancer was once the leading cause of death among women. Cervical cancer death rates fell 74% between 1955 and 1992 thanks to the use of Pap screens. Regular screening lowers the risk of developing invasive cervical cancer by detecting pre-cancerous cervical lesions that can be treated.
Cervical cancer is a slow-growing disease. If it is detected early, the likelihood of survival is almost 100 percent with appropriate treatment and follow-up. YKHC recommends a Pap test at least every three years from age 21–64.
Contact Information
Pre-maternal Home
907-543-2590
Women’s Care & Support Center
907-543-6760
Cancer Screening
800-478-3321
Women, Infants, & Children (WIC)
907-543-6459
Located in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital, enter through emergency room entrance.
Hours
Pre-maternal Home
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5p.m.
Women’s Care & Support Center
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5p.m.
Cancer Screening
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5p.m.
Women, Infants, & Children (WIC)
Monday-Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30p.m.