New Ounce home visiting program to serve 100 Chicago families

The challenges young mothers face are revealed through sobering statistics from the March of Dimes. One in 5 teen moms in Chicago have inadequate prenatal care, 1 in 6 deliver prematurely, and 1 in 8 deliver a baby with a low birth weight who is at increased risk for health problems that impede school readiness. Additionally, most teen moms are not married and drop out, leaving them at greater risk of poverty.

To help pregnant teens in Chicago overcome these obstacles and ensure that their babies get a healthy start, the Ounce of Prevention Fund is partnering with Mercy Hospital and Medical Center to open a new home visiting program. Home visitors support young families through late pregnancy and the early years of a child's life and help create a strong parent-child attachment. Research shows that bond becomes the foundation for the child's health, development and later success in school.

The program opened in July and incorporates the Nurse-Family Partnership model. Independent studies have shown that this model helps improve prenatal health and increases children's school readiness. It will be the first Nurse-Family Partnership program in Chicago, and only the third in Illinois.

"We're excited to work with Mercy Hospital to bring this proven program to families in Chicago," says Claire Dunham, senior vice president of programs at the Ounce. "There is a great need on the South Side for programs that address health disparities and prepare low-income children for school."

Four trained nurses will help 100 low-income teen mothers. The program is recruiting teens who are between 6 and 28 weeks pregnant with their first child.

"Pregnancy is the best period to intervene," said Dr. Karen Scott, Nurse Family Partnership program administrator at Mercy Hospital. "We can educate and empower mothers who are at the greatest risk of having children with low birth weights and all of the consequent health and developmental problems that entails. The Nurse Family Partnership program will help children enter school at an advantage and will empower young moms to be successful as parents."

Randomized control trials of the Nurse Family Partnership model have shown that it reduces child abuse and neglect by 48%, language delays in children at 21 months by 50%, and behavioral and intellectual problems at age 6 by 67%. The program was also shown to increase the father's involvement in the family by 46%.

"The Nurse Family partnership program serves families for two and a half years, but the outcomes last much longer," Dr. Scott adds. Studies of Nurse-Family Partnership programs found a 26% improvement in children's math and reading test scores in first through third grades, a 59% reduction in arrests of children at age 15 and a 20% reduction in welfare use. All of which adds up to reduced costs to government and society.

The program is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services. It is part of Mercy Hospital's Young Women's Health Initiative, which Dr. Scott launched to improve health outcomes for young women in the community. The Young Women's Health Initiative also will incorporate mental health, nutrition and teen fatherhood programs.



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