FC Oregon Nurse, Barb Ibrahim, visits with Amber and Matt Luman and their new daughter, Esserley.
Family Connects Highlighted In NPR Article!
[Family Connects] “offers any family with a new baby a no-cost visit at home with a trained nurse…It’s the state’s response to a grim, American reality: The U.S. has one of the highest death rates of any wealthy nation for infants and new mothers. And no wonder. After birth, the only support many families in the U.S. can count on is the occasional, 15-minute check-in at the pediatrician’s office. A safety net made of gossamer. Now, Oregon is trying to change that.”
“Around 1 in 7 new mothers in the U.S. report postpartum depression…A study of Family Connects in Durham found mothers in the program were 30% less likely to experience possible postpartum depression or anxiety.”
“…Family Connects also found a big drop in Child Protective Services investigations into parents…[along with] a big drop in the number of trips new parents were making to the emergency room.”
Family Connects International is proud to celebrate our 2nd anniversary as a nonprofit organization in July! Over the past 2 years, we have remained committed to assisting our community partners in caring for newborns and their families through our universal nurse home visiting program! We want to thank our community partners, nurses, and staff for their dedication to the FCI mission of providing equitable care for newborns and families.
Special thanks to Welcome Baby of Durham, NC for the opportunity for the FCI team to commemorate this milestone meaningfully by volunteering. The FCI team sized and labeled maternity clothing as well as prepared information packets!
Nancy Segall (Clinical Director at Beyond the Baby Blues) and
Monica Mitchell (CDPH Public Health Administrator)
Monica Mitchell and Nancy Segall discuss the importance of maternal mental health and available resources to support mothers at a crucial time.
Listen:
Watch:
FCI, works with community partners across the USA, such as Family Connects Chicago, to ensure ALL newborns and families receive equitable and quality health care, support and resources.
Dr. Simbo Ige, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner, talked to ABC 7 about Black Maternal and the availability of Family Connects to new parents in Chicago. Chicago is increasing access to over 16,000 women who will receive a free in home visit from a nurse!
You can find the full story HERE at ABC 7
The video above has been set to play right before Governor DeWine starts speaking about Family Connects at the 39 minute mark.
“I’m also pleased today to announce that we will be launching a new pilot program in 11 Ohio counties that we’re calling Family Connects. Every new mom will be eligible in these 11 counties to receive a visit from a nurse about 3 weeks after delivering her baby. These visiting nurses can guide families to clinical or community supports, recognize when a mom and a baby may need additional help as a result of exhaustion or trouble with breastfeeding, and remind or teach new moms about how a baby can sleep safely. Similar programs that we’ve looked at have shown a track record of reducing infant mortality. In places where these programs have been implemented rates of Child Protective Services investigations have decreased by 44% and mothers have shown a 30% drop in postpartum depression and a 50% reduction in emergency room visits. In our next budget that I’ll present to you next year, I’ll be asking you for additional support to take that Family Connects program statewide.”