An innovative, free public program for new moms and dads helps them adjust to life with a newborn.
In each location where this program, called Family Connects, is offered, all families, rich and poor, are eligible to have a visiting nurse come right to the home after the birth of a child. The program has been shown to improve parenting behavior and reduce emergency medical care for infants.
“We go into the hospital, we welcome the family—the baby—into the community. We deliver the message that every parent can be successful, but no parent has ever been successful alone, and so we invite ourselves into their home to follow up, to learn what they need,” says Duke University professor Ken Dodge, who started the program.
To find out more, listen to this episode of Duke’s Ways and Means podcast, or read the transcript.
Source: Duke University
