Jul 17, 2008 7:59 pm US/Eastern
Young Expectant Mothers Connected To Health Advice
Just Dial 211 On Your Phone To Contact The Children's Trust Hotline
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A program within The Children's Trust called "Health Connect" helps new parents get a comprehensive, three-stage, quality-driven plan whose goal is to provide health service for healthy children.
Mardi Munoz is getting ready for her first child, and has a counselor who can answer her questions, someone who's given her good advice since they met.
Mardi Munoz is a client of The Children's Trust "Health Connect", and she told CBS4 Anchor Shannon Hori, "As a result of that first meeting, we were connected to a child-birth class that met our schedule, which had been a challenge for us."
The Cutler Bay mom-to-be is enrolled in "Health Connect" in the early years, a program of The Children's Trust. It matches families with a family coach, a para-professional who guides people through pregnancy and the first three years of a baby's life. Family coaches visit clients, answer their questions, and give advice on how to raise a healthy child.
"We did this because we know there's an enormous need for new mothers to have information about their pregnancy, about how to take care of themselves while they're pregnant," said Emily Cardenas of The Children's Trust. "After the baby is born, they need lots of information about the developmental milestones of the baby."
That information is at the fingertips of a family coach like Ayasha McLaughlin-Cooper. She's spent years helping expectant mothers deal with childbirth and infant care. She said, "It's a wonderful job, and you really do feel like you make a difference in the world."
It means talking to moms and dads about everything from basic baby care, to breast feeding and immunization schedules, to supplementing the medical care one gets at a doctor's office. It's about little things that make a big difference when welcoming a little person into your home, like safety tips for setting up a nursery.
"Health Connect" in the early years is a free service of The Children's Trust. It's available to all first-time moms, teenage mothers, and children up to age three who live in Miami-Dade County.
For the Children's Trust Miami Heart Gallery, please call The Children's Trust Helpline at 211 where specially trained Switchboard of Miami counselors are standing by, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English, Spanish and Creole. In Broward, call (305) 631-4211.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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