Improve lives of at-risk moms & babies in the USA

One of the unique things about supporting Nurse-Family Partnership is that because of the research behind the program you can be sure that your support really empowers first-time moms to change their lives and the lives of their children.  Just this week, new research is out about one of the initial research trials of Nurse-Family Partnership, read the press release here:

JAMA Pediatrics Reports Nurse-Family Partnership Reduces Preventable
Death Among Mothers and Children

 MEMPHIS, TENN. (July 8, 2014) — A study published by JAMA Pediatrics – a leading, peer-reviewed
journal of the American Medical Association – found that Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) reduces
preventable death among both low-income mothers and their first-born children living in disadvantaged,
urban neighborhoods. This is the first randomized, clinical trial of an early intervention program
conducted in a high-income country to find evidence of reductions in maternal and child death.

“Death among mothers and children in these age ranges in the United States general population is rare, but
of enormous consequence. The high rates of death among mothers and children not receiving nurse-home
visits reflect the toxic conditions faced by too many low-income parents and children in our society. The
lower mortality rate found among nurse-visited mothers and children likely reflects the nurses’ support of
mothers’ basic human drives to protect their children and themselves,” said David Olds, Ph.D., professor
of pediatrics at the University of Colorado and lead investigator on the study.

Beginning in 1990, this trial enrolled low-income, primarily African-American mothers living in
disadvantaged neighborhoods in Memphis, Tenn., and assessed maternal and child mortality for over two
decades until 2011. Olds announced today these findings at a press conference held at Le Bonheur
Children’s Hospital, which serves families through NFP in Memphis.

Nurse-Family Partnership produced a significant reduction in preventable child death from birth until age
20. Children in the control group not receiving nurse-home visits had a mortality rate of 1.6% for
preventable causes – including sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries and homicide. There
were zero preventable deaths among nurse-visited children.

In addition, over the same two-decade period, mothers who received nurse-home visits had significantly
lower rates of death for all causes compared to mothers not receiving nurse-home visits. Mothers in the “Death among mothers and children in these age ranges in the United States general population is rare, but
of enormous consequence. The high rates of death among mothers and children not receiving nurse-home
visits reflect the toxic conditions faced by too many low-income parents and children in our society. The
lower mortality rate found among nurse-visited mothers and children likely reflects the nurses’ support of
mothers’ basic human drives to protect their children and themselves,” said David Olds, Ph.D., professor
of pediatrics at the University of Colorado and lead investigator on the study.

Beginning in 1990, this trial enrolled low-income, primarily African-American mothers living in
disadvantaged neighborhoods in Memphis, Tenn., and assessed maternal and child mortality for over two
decades until 2011. Olds announced today these findings at a press conference held at Le Bonheur
Children’s Hospital, which serves families through NFP in Memphis.

Nurse-Family Partnership produced a significant reduction in preventable child death from birth until age
20. Children in the control group not receiving nurse-home visits had a mortality rate of 1.6% for
preventable causes – including sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries and homicide. There
were zero preventable deaths among nurse-visited children.

In addition, over the same two-decade period, mothers who received nurse-home visits had significantly
lower rates of death for all causes compared to mothers not receiving nurse-home visits. Mothers in the control group who did not receive nurse-home visits were nearly three times more likely to die than were
nurse-visited mothers. The relative reduction in maternal mortality was even greater for deaths due to
external causes – those tied to maternal behaviors and environmental conditions – including unintentional
injuries, suicide, drug overdose and homicide. Mothers not receiving nurse-home visits were eight times
more likely to die of these causes than nurse-visited mothers.

“We intend to continue this research to see whether Nurse-Family Partnership reduces premature
mortality at later ages and corresponding health problems as the mothers and children grow older,” said
Olds.

Earlier follow-up studies of the Memphis trial found that nurse-visited mothers, compared to those
assigned to the control group, had better prenatal health and behavior; reduced rates of closely-spaced
subsequent pregnancies; decreased use of welfare, Medicaid and food stamps; fewer behavioral
impairments due to substance use; and fewer parenting attitudes that predispose them to abuse their
children. At earlier phases of follow-up, nurse-visited children,compared to children not receiving nurse-home visits, were less likely to be hospitalized for injuries through age two; less likely to have behavioral problems at school entry; and less likely to reveal depression, anxiety and substance use at age 12.

Your continued support of Nurse-Family Partnership ensures that these results can be realized by thousands of moms and babies across the United States.  

Nurse-Family Partnership moms come from many different backgrounds and experiences;  here is the story of one mom's success - Brady. Hers is a strong, clear voice with an energy that young people seem to have when their future is undeniably bright. To talk with Brady today, you’d never know it wasn’t always that way.

“I was in a low point,” she confides. A low point just before she met the young man who would quickly become the father of her child. Her first marriage had ended in less than a year, due to domestic abuse. The divorce was followed by job loss, and the need to move in with her grandmother for a while. But Brady began to pull herself up.

Your support of Nurse-Family Partnership helps moms just like Brady to find their voice and to be able to advocate for themselves and their children.  Thank you!