Maternal-child health programs

Help!

I am looking for programs or initiatives that focus on helping teen or other at-risk new moms make the transition into motherhood - programs that start with the prenatal period and follow the moms/kids until the child's 2nd or 3rd birthday, for example. I'm a student nurse and when I get out of school, I would like to (eventually, at least) work with this kind of program.

Because it involves both maternal and child health, I am having a hard time knowing what exactly to search for on the Web. I have found one program, the Nurse-Family Partnership, that does this kind of work. Does anybody know of other programs? Is there a particular name or catch-phrase for this kind of nursing initiative?

Thanks very much,

Karen

PS - I will also post this message on a maternal/ob/gyn type bulletin board...I figure if I approach it from that and peds, maybe I can find something! :)

[Jolie, BSN]

You might want to try looking up community health programs, as they are usually the source of this type of service. When I was in school (eons ago), we did a rotation with the local VNA which provided a service similar to what you describe. Many of the babies we followed were NICU graduates, so maybe a local NICU could provide you with some guidance. Most of these moms and babies qualified for WIC, so that may be another place to try. Another possibility would be the local health department's pre-natal and well-baby clinics. Good luck!

[Motivated, SN]

You can also try: Prenatal Care Coordination and Child Care Coordination.