The New Orleans program doing house calls for postpartum mothers: ‘For many women, you fall off a cliff’
Summary
Family Connects New Orleans (FCNO) is a free program that offers up to three home visits by nurses to parents of newborns up to 12 weeks old. The program aims to support new mothers’ physical and mental health during the critical postpartum period, which is when many health risks occur after leaving the hospital.Key Facts
- FCNO started in New Orleans in August 2023 and serves anyone who gives birth at Ochsner Baptist or Touro hospital and lives in Orleans Parish.
- The program offers free home visits by nurses who check on both the baby and the mother’s well-being.
- Family Connects is a national initiative that began in Durham, North Carolina, in 2008 and has expanded to multiple states.
- Around 43.3% of pregnancy-related deaths happen in the six weeks after birth, making postpartum care critical.
- Nurses provide clinical checks and connect families to local resources they may not know about.
- The program helps fill the gap between hospital discharge and the first doctor’s visit after birth.
- New Orleans officials hope the program will improve health outcomes and reduce risks during the early weeks after delivery.
- Other established programs like WIC and Healthy Start support families but do not focus as much on the immediate postpartum period like FCNO does.
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