Nyah Phillips (center) spoke at the Rx Kids launch event in Wayne County in December.
When Nyah Phillips learned she was pregnant with her first child, joy quickly collided with uncertainty.
Living in Inkster, Nyah had recently moved for a new job when she was unexpectedly laid off. Soon after, severe pregnancy symptoms made steady work nearly impossible.
“I was extremely sick, fatigued, and losing weight,” she said. “Some days, even driving myself to appointments felt impossible.”
With no income for nearly three months, Nyah depleted her savings and fell behind on rent, utilities, and car insurance. As someone with low blood sugar, she was also at risk for fainting while struggling to eat regularly. Eventually, she had to change her living situation and move closer to family for support.
Today, Phillips is in her third trimester — healthy, safe, and preparing to welcome her baby. She’s enrolled in childbirth and newborn care classes, working with a doula, and focusing on the future. But she’s quick to point out how fragile that progress once felt.
“Pregnancy and childbirth can function like a temporary disability,” Phillips said. “There are things you can’t plan for, no matter how prepared you are. Rx Kids gives moms like me room to breathe and focus on what really matters: our health and our babies.”
Rx Kids, a groundbreaking cash prescription program for pregnant people and newborns, launched in Wayne County in November of 2025, expanding access to families in communities like Inkster. The program provides direct, unconditional cash support during pregnancy and a child’s first six of life, recognizing that financial stability is foundational to health.
Phillips’ experience in preparing for her new baby by finding space to enroll in childbirth and newborn classes isn’t a unique one for Rx Kids mom. Early research shows cash prescriptions through Rx Kids are linked to earlier and more adequate prenatal care, with more women beginning care in the first trimester and staying engaged throughout pregnancy, which is critical for healthier births and maternal wellbeing.
Rx Kids has helped Nyah Phillips navigate several life changes during her pregnancy.
Other analyses have shown that the program drives income and economic growth, supporting jobs and increasing personal income in local communities. Additional research links Rx Kids to higher civic engagement, with participating mothers more likely to participate in elections and report greater trust in government. Studies also show that the cash support strengthens family stability and improves health, from reducing financial shocks to lowering eviction risk and improving maternal mental health.
“Rx Kids is about trust, dignity, and meeting families where they are,” said Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “When we invest in mothers during pregnancy and early infancy, we’re investing in the long-term health of children, families, and entire communities.”
Since launching in Flint in 2024, Rx Kids has prescribed more than $20 million in cash support, enrolled nearly 5,000 families, and supported the births of more than 3,600 babies, demonstrating the powerful impact of economic support during the earliest stages of life.
For Phillips, the program’s expansion into Wayne County also feels personal. While attending Michigan State University, she learned about Dr. Mona as the author of What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, a book she read during her freshman year. Phillips later had the opportunity to meet Dr. Mona when she visited campus for a class forum, making the program’s arrival in her own community feel like a full-circle moment.
“To see this program expand into communities like mine is incredibly meaningful,” Phillips said. “This is such a critical season of life. Rx Kids recognizes that it can be both joyful and challenging and that families deserve compassion, not judgment.”
As she prepares to meet her baby, Phillips is hopeful for her own family and for others across Wayne County and Michigan as the program expands in 2026 who will now have access to the same support.
“Cash support helps us keep housing, pay bills, maintain our health, and support our partners, too,” she said. “It allows parents to focus on health instead of survival. And every parent deserves that.”
