By SHARI RUDAVSKY
The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Many first-time parents of newborns wonder how they will cope when they leave the comfort zone of the hospital, where expert nurses are on hand to answer questions and help solve problems. A program in Central Indiana aims to help the most vulnerable of mothers - and their babies - by providing regular nurse visits during pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life.
This week the Nurse-Family Partnership that Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana started just over four years ago marks a milestone: the 1,000th baby born.
That child, Roman Adkins, came close on the heels of his twin sister, Alexis, the 999th baby born into the program. Both infants were born Feb. 15th at St. Vincent Women's Hospital.
For Sara Harris, 29, the many visits that nurse Amber Burleson paid to her house during her pregnancy helped assuage some of her concern about having twins.
Expecting her first child was daunting enough, Harris said. Once she learned she was having twins, she knew she could use all the help she could get with questions like how to handle if they wind up on different schedules or start crying at the same time.
"My mom told me to do this," said Sara, her fiance Thomas Adkins by her side. "If you need extra help, they will help you understand stuff a little better."
Her sister Tara Harris, 24, who joined the program right after her older sister, agreed that the Nurse-Family Partnership has helped make first-time motherhood smoother.
Tara gave birth to her first child, Dean Davin, three months ago. Because she works nights, she was not able to squeeze in many childbirth classes. Her visits with Burleson, however, helped her better prepare herself for a newborn in her life.
"It makes me feel a little bit more confident in what I'm doing," Tara said. "I know it's made both of us feel confident in the whole pregnancy."
The goal of the program goes beyond more confident mothers.
Indiana has the seventh worst infant mortality rate in the nation: seven infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The rate is even higher for African-Americans: 15 deaths for 1,000 live births, said Betsy Delgado, vice president of mission advancement for Goodwill, which oversees the partnership.
Partnership babies enjoy good health predictors. Almost 60 percent of participating mothers who smoke quit before the baby arrives. Ninety percent of the babies are born at a healthy weight, and a third of the mothers are still breastfeeding their babies at six months.
To enroll in the program, a woman must be in her first pregnancy, be less than 28 weeks into her pregnancy and be at 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level. Two hundred percent of the federal poverty level would be $32,040 for a single mother and an infant.
The Nurse-Family Partnership has been around for about 35 years and has programs in 43 states. Federal funds support the bulk of Goodwill's program, which has 28 nurses on staff.
Goodwill has expanded its program from Marion County to Lake, Madison, Tippecanoe, White and Delaware counties, Delgado said. There's no waiting list to enroll, but Delgado says that could change.
Still, she said, she would like to see about half of the state's 14,000 first-time mothers on Medicaid enroll in the program. Mothers in the program also receive help aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty. About half of the mothers the program has helped did not graduate from high school.
Research has shown that helping families become more economically self-sufficient can prevent child abuse and reduce juvenile crime.
"The birth of a child is a magical moment in a family's life, and it's an opportune moment to come around with ladders of opportunities," Delgado said.
For the first four weeks, the nurse visits weekly. After that, visits drop to every other week during the pregnancy, Burleson said. Once the baby is born, the nurse visits weekly once more for the first six weeks. Then it's back to every other week for the first 20 months of the child's life and then monthly until the child's second birthday.
During the prenatal visits, the nurse takes the patient's blood pressure but devotes the bulk just to talking to the would-be mother. Most of all, however, the nurses serve as cheerleaders for the women - and that can be critical in helping them adjust to their new role, Burleson said.
"For a lot of moms, there haven't been a lot of people who have encouraged them and made them feel empowered," she said.
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Source: The Indianapolis Star, http://indy.st/1oI23tv
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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com
This is an AP-Indiana Exchange story offered by The Indianapolis Star.
