VISION: Empower families in our community through prevention, education and advocacy to enhance health outcomes, life skills and family self-sufficiency.
Services provided to pregnant and parenting teens and low-income women:
• Education related to pregnancy and parenting, including breastfeeding support (click here for more >>)
• Help getting prenatal medical care
• Support and counseling
• Links to community resources
Location
Services are offered in clients’ homes and at the Health Department.
Fee
None.
For urgent, pregnancy-related health concerns, please call your doctor or the LMH Emergency Department at (785) 840-3072.
For general pregnancy program information, call (785) 843-0721 or e-mail pregnancyservices@ldchealth.org
Pregnancy and Parenting Services Program Review
Pregnancy and Parenting Services help families implement healthier lifestyles and promote breast feeding. In 2008, there was a notable decline in clients who smoked during pregnancy and clients who initiated breastfeeding.
FAQs
I’m pregnant and I don’t have health insurance. What should I do?
We suggest you call the Health Department at (785) 843-0721 and ask to speak with a Pregnancy and Parenting Services nurse who can help you find options for paying for prenatal care based on your individual situation.
Do you provide medical care for pregnancy at the Health Department?
No, but nurses from our Pregnancy and Parenting Services can help you find ways to pay for prenatal care provided by doctors and nurse midwives in the community. For assistance, call (785) 843-0721 and ask to speak to a Pregnancy and Parenting Services nurse.
Teen Independence Project (TIP)
The Teen Independence Project is designed to assist teen mothers to:
• Set goals for the future
• Plan how to reach goals
• Get community services needed to help reach goals
• Obtain prenatal care
• Be a successful parent
• Finish high school, obtain GED or higher education
•
Become financially self-supporting
Location
Services are provided at clients’ homes and at the Health Department.
Fee
None. For more information, please call (785) 843-0721 and ask to speak with a Teen Independence Project nurse.
ELLEN'S STORY
After becoming pregnant at 19, Ellen enrolled in the Health Department’s maternal child health programs. She has continued to work with her nurse case manager through a subsequent miscarriage and pregnancy.
Together, they have addressed multiple issues affecting the family’s physical and mental health.
Through health education and linkage to community resources, the nurse helped Ellen cope with pre-term labor, chronic asthma, dental needs and an elevated risk for diabetes. They developed written goal plans for health promotion, family planning and stress reduction activities.
The nurse also helped Ellen process grief following her miscarriage. She identified postpartum depression after the most recent pregnancy and linked the young mother with a counselor.
As the family’s income fluctuated due to Ellen’s husband’s seasonal labor, the nurse helped the family access community assistance programs to stretch their budget.
Ellen’s case manager first identified mild developmental delays in Ellen’s children. The children were linked to special services to help them enter school ready to learn and the oldest is now thriving as a first grader.
The nurse guided Ellen in assuring the children received timely immunizations and wellness care and linked her to an excellent parenting class, which she completed with enthusiasm.
Ellen has grown into a competent and self-confident mother and knows she can still call on her nurse case manager with health and parenting questions.
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Clients respond to the question,
“What have you found most helpful about HEALTH DEPARTMENT services for pregnant and parenting families?”
Now I have someone to talk to.
The nurse teaches me as well as my children how to be a family.
When no one else was there, my nurse was there to care. She was there to help me cope with the early birth of my child and the problems due to it.
Most helpful was the extra help to find solutions to my personal life in order to improve my children’s lives.
When a person is not from Lawrence, all the help you give them helps to open their options in the community.
Most of all, it was someone there to talk to and help me find the resources I needed or just to answer the questions I had.
My nurse helped me breastfeed. I’d like to thank her for that.
