The US town that pays every pregnant woman $1,500: 'We're not OK with our babies being born into poverty' [View all]
When Angela Sintery first learned about Rx Kids, a program for new mothers in her home town of Flint, Michigan, she thought someone must be trying to scam her.
“I had some teacher friends that kept sending me links saying: ‘You need to apply for this. It’s a brand-new program. We think you qualify,’” Sintery said. But it seemed too good to be true.
The program promised $1,500 for all expectant mothers during pregnancy and $500 per month for the first year of their infant’s life. All Sintery had to do was upload a copy of her ultrasound and ID. Pregnant with her second child 19 years after she’d had her first, Sintery needed all new baby supplies. And as a preschool teacher, she’d be grateful for any help she could get paying for all of it.
It wasn’t too good to be true. Researchers at Michigan State University had just launched the United States’s first community-wide, unconditional cash transfer program for new families, and Sintery – who gave birth to her daughter Jolene Love in May 2024 – qualified.
“It took so much stress away,” said Sintery. “I used that money to buy my car seat, to buy her bassinet and her crib.” She was also able to take the first 14 weeks of her daughter’s life off from work, and afford diapers and wipes in the months to come. The extra money helped Sintery “step back and enjoy my pregnancy”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/15/rx-kids-flint-michigan-pregnancy
What a fantastic idea!
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