Nurse program helps break poverty
THE APRIL 2 editorial and op-ed pages had two interrelated essays. Yes, New Mexico has more Medicaid births and at the same time low wages and high underemployment. Quality prenatal care is essential if we are to have healthier mothers and infants.
There are evidence-based programs that can break the cycle of multi-generations of family poverty. There are multiple home visiting programs in New Mexico. Some start while the mother is pregnant and other programs begin after delivery or during the first five years of the child’s life.
Nurse Family Partnership is a program where registered nurses, with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree, begin home visits no later than the 28th week of pregnancy for first-time, high socially-atrisk, low-income mothers and follow the mother and baby through the second year of the baby’s life. For every dollar invested in this program an estimated $5.70 is saved in later services.
Outcomes are based on 30-plus years of research on NFP. They show more mothers deliver at term, delay second pregnancies and become employed. Babies have fewer emergency department visits for abuse or neglect, children who participate are more likely to be ready for school entry, less likely to be held back by third grade, more likely to graduate from high school. The impact of this program follows the participants beyond high school to decreased involvement with drugs and encounters with the law or prison system. The children who participate are more likely to go on to some type of post high school education or training. They also delay their own parenting.
If we are to break the cycle of poverty and early pregnancy in New Mexico we must invest in the future of our children. Nurse Family Partnership serves 125 families in Albuquerque; we need funding to provide these services to more families. Other programs, which have less evidence, do provide support for families. However, we either invest in our families and children now, preparing them for a productive, prosperous future, or we prepare to increase our prisons and have more Medicaid births in the future. MARIE L. LOBO PhD, RN, FAAN, professor emerita UNM College of Nursing Albuquerque