Barb Ibrahim, a nurse for more than 30 years, recently showed up at Matt and Amber Luman’s house in rural Jefferson County, Oregon. She’s part of a new program, slowly rolling out across Oregon, called Family Connects. The program 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 both. That’s because after birth the only support many families can count on is the occasional 15-minute check-in at the pediatrician’s office. Now, Oregon is trying to change that. Nurses who participate in Family Connects go through a quick medical checklist, checking the new baby’s temperature, checking for soft spots where the bones of the skull haven’t yet fused, weighing the baby to maintain a record of whether the baby is thriving, and answering any of the many questions new parents often have. Some parents share their frustration, while others are eager for advice or comfort in the early weeks. Sometimes it comes down to simply showing the new parents how to properly hold the baby. Family Connects offers any family in Oregon 1-3 home visits from a trained nurse within their baby’s first few weeks of life, at no cost to the family. Around 1 in 7 new mothers in the U.S. report postpartum depression, and Family Connects nurses can provide the kind of support they need. If a family is struggling with housing or food insecurity or addiction, the nurse will connect them with local groups and agencies that can help. Mental health counseling, marriage counseling, child care while mom or dad finish their degree online are also provided. They can even help grandma get a hearing aid if she’s living in the home and helping take care of baby. So far, the program is a big success, and no one is more thankful than the new moms and dads.
