Resources
Start a healthy pregnancy journey with trusted community partners, offering education, guidance, and support for birthing families.
Benefits
- Application for Benefits Eligibility (ABE) – to apply for and manage your healthcare, food, and cash assistance benefits.
- Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership – helps people find jobs through a network of more than 90 community-based organizations, American Job Centers, satellite sites, and sector-driven centers.
- CountyCare – a no-cost Illinois Medicaid managed care health plan for residents of Cook County. Call 312-864-8200. Toll-free 855-444-1661. TDD/TTY: 711.
- Get Covered Illinois – a health insurance marketplace. Call 866-311-1119.
- Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Customer Helpline – for help applying for Medicaid, WIC, or food stamps. Call 800-843-6154
- Illinois Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) Health Benefits Hotline : (800) 226-0768
- Illinois Link Help Line : (800) 678-LINK (5465)
Birth Control, Pregnancy Planning and Women’s Health Services
- Birthing journal – free 40-week birthing journal Printable and Digital
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Planning for pregnancy
- Steps to a Healthier Me Pregnancy Planner
- Cook County Health
- General Directory – Find a doctor and search locations and services, including:
- Arlington Heights Health Center
- Blue Island Health Center
- Cottage Grove Health Center
- North Riverside Health Center
- Robbins Health Center
- Obstetrics and Gynecology – find obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) specializing in comprehensive women’s health, focusing on reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth care, and wellness.
- To schedule an appointment, call 312-864-0200 for a location closest to you.
- General Directory – Find a doctor and search locations and services, including:
- Due date calculator
- Illinois Women’s Health Line | Call 888-522-1282 – a free and confidential resource available to Illinois women with health-related questions.
- Planned Parenthood – compassionate and confidential reproductive healthcare including birth control, testing for sexually transmitted infections, gender-affirming care, and more.
Childcare and Early Learning Programs
- Early Intervention (EI) – a statewide initiative offering support and services to families, aiming to assist children under the age of three in achieving developmental milestones provided through Child and Family Connections (CFC). Use the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Office Locator or call 1-800-843-6154 to learn more.
- Illinois Action for Children offers a range of childcare resources and referral services to help families find and afford quality childcare. Parent consultants evaluate childcare programs, suggest questions to ask when visiting centers, and highlight signs of quality childcare. Click on the links above, call 312-823-1100 or email [email protected] to learn more.
- Illinois Cares for Kids
Doulas & Midwives
Doulas and midwives provide additional support or serve as an alternative to your obstetrician during pregnancy and childbirth. They offer physical, emotional, and informational help, which can reduce the need for C-sections, lower pain medication use, lead to better birth outcomes and improve overall satisfaction with the birth experience.
Find a doula
Doula Training
- DONA International
- Birth Boot Camp
- MaternityWise International
- Illinois Medicaid-Certified Doula Training Program Managed by the SIU School of Medicine and overseen by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
Food and Nutrition
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans : Make every bite count
- Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program – a U.S. government program that provides nutritious foods, health care referrals and nutrition education to low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. Low- and middle- income families may be eligible if they meet the income requirements. WIC also provides food coupons that are good for healthy foods. To find local WIC offices and apply for WIC in Cook County, visit:
- Cook County Health – WIC is available at: Arlington Heights Health Center , North Riverside Health Center , Belmont Cragin Health Center , Cottage Grove Health Center , Robbins Health Center , John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital.
- Greater Chicago Food Depository
- Illinois Department of Human Services or call (217) 782-2166
- Illinois Department of Human Services Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program – for women who are enrolled in the WIC Program and are pregnant, breastfeeding or just had a baby. The purpose of this program it to improve breastfeeding support, initiation and duration rates, to reduce infant mortality, to improve cognitive abilities and overall long-term health benefits of infants and children, and to reduce the incidence of obesity in childhood and later life.
Housing
- Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County
- Cook County, IL Homeless Shelters Locator
- Emergency and Transitional Housing Providers – If you need immediate shelter, you may also call 2-1-1.
- Eviction Help Illinois
- Housing Action Illinois
- Relief for Households Across the State – The Pritzker Administration, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), is leveraging federal funds to help Illinois families access and afford home energy assistance and other essential services through its Help Illinois Families initiative. Help Illinois Families is administered by DCEO’s Office of Community Assistance. DCEO manages the following federal programs: Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Community Services Block Grant Program (CSBG), and Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP).
Mental Health and Substance Use
It’s important to take care of your mental health and have a support system in place. Pregnancy can be emotional, and having support can really help your well-being. Postpartum depression is a mood disorder than can affect women after childbirth. Symptoms include intense sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion, making daily tasks difficult. It is more severe and long-lasting than “baby blues” and results from a mix of physical and emotional factors.
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
- Get Naloxone Cook County | Cook County Department of Public Health – A website with information about a free, life-saving medication called naloxone that can be used to reverse an opioid overdose.
- Here to Hear You Campaign | Cook County Department of Public Health – Reminds Cook County residents they can thrive at any stage of their mental health journeys and that they are not alone in the process.
- FindTreatment.gov | SAMHSA – a confidential and anonymous resource for persons seeking treatment for mental and substance use disorders in the United States and its territories.
- Illinois Department of Public Health – learn about postpartum depression and get resources
- NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) – Anyone in Cook County can also call NAMI Chicago’s Helpline 7 days a week, 833-NAMI-CHI (833-626-4244). This is a free and confidential resource that provides a listening ear, guidance and connection to the right mental health and over 700 social service resources, over the phone.
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline | HRSA – Pregnant or just had a baby? Get free, confidential help, 24/7. Call 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
- Psychology Today – Find pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum therapists in the Chicago area.
- Postpartum Support International (PSI) – a directory of qualified perinatal mental health professionals and support groups
Safe Sleep
- Illinois Department of Public Health Brighter Beginnings program offers a free Sleep Safe Kit for those who attend at least four prenatal visits.
Sexual Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Don’t Guess. Get a Test – information about testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections
- GetTested (CDC) – find HIV, STI, and viral hepatitis testing and vaccines near you
- Syphilis Stops with Me – information about syphilis testing and treatment before and during pregnancy to protect your baby from getting congenital (newborn) syphilis
Additional Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Child passenger safety
- Positive parenting practices
- Vaccinations
- What to expect after baby arrives
- What to know during pregnancy
Educational videos and articles
- Hear Her Campaign (CDC)
- Hear Their Stories (CDC)
- How to Have a Baby If You Are LGBTQIA+ (DeAnna Young, MD | San Diego Health)
- Igniting Change in the Black Maternal Mortality Crisis (Christine Ivery | TEDxEvanston)
- Maternal Health 101
- Personal stories from pregnancy-related complications from American Indians (CDC)
- Personal stories of pregnancy-related complications (CDC)
- Words & Wombs Create Worlds: The Black Maternal Health Crisis (Shawnee Benton Gibson | TEDx Boston)
Updated November 13, 2024, 4:59 PM