Healthier Mothers, Healthier Babies
By Jan Jarvis, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
Feb. 23–Ninth-grader Tammy Evans has homework to do, classes to attend and diapers to change.
She manages the challenges of being a 15-year-old mom surprisingly well with a little help from Tasha Brewer, a volunteer with the Fort Worth/Dallas Birthing Project.
“She is an awesome mom,” said Brewer, who has helped Evans since she became pregnant. “She’s a better mom than some adults I’ve seen.”
Evans and her son, Davion, are the picture of success for the Fort Worth/Dallas Birthing Project, which was organized by volunteers as a way to reduce Tarrant County’s high infant-mortality rate.
“We were underground saving babies,” said Kim Parish Perkins, a founding member who is now the executive director. “We had women who latched onto a pregnant teen and basically said, ‘I’m going to treat her like she’s my sister.’”
That approach has helped more than 140 girls deliver healthy babies since 1997. As the Fort Worth/Dallas Birthing Project marks its 10th anniversary with a celebration Friday, it’s clear that the grassroots organization has made a difference.
“Any project that is trying to help women have healthy babies is something that is needed in the community,” said Latawnya Peachy, coordinator for the Tarrant County Infant Mortality Task Force. “It’s a great thing, but it’s only one thing. We need to hit infant mortality from all different angles.”
Tarrant County’s infant-mortality rate is higher than the national and state averages. The county’s rate is 7.5 deaths per 1,000 births based on 2003 data, the most recent available. The national average is 6.9 and the state average is 6.6.
The Birthing Project matches “SisterFriends” or volunteers with pregnant girls who are at high risk for delivering a low-birth-weight baby. Girls who wouldn’t receive prenatal care and are unhealthy because of poor nutrition are referred to the organization by community members.
“The No. 1 reason that babies die is they are born too early or too small,” Parish Perkins said.
In 10 years, only five babies involved in the program have been born below 5.5 pounds and those were just slightly less, Parish Perkins said. One died of sudden infant death syndrome.
Davion weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces when he was born. Evans credits Brewer with helping her have such a healthy baby.
“She took me to all my doctor’s appointments, made sure I was eating healthy and didn’t smoke,” Evans said. “She was there when I needed her.”
The volunteer not only helps the teen have a healthy baby; she also supports her in building a positive future.
Nearly all of the teens in the program stay in school, with 99 percent of the high school seniors graduating. Evans attends the Fort Worth school district’s New Lives School, which serves students during their pregnancy and after they give birth. After graduation she hopes to go on to college and law school.
The girls in the Birthing Project, who are called “little sisters,” range in age from 12 to 28 years old. More than half are African-American; 24 percent are Hispanic and 24 percent are Anglo or another race. Many live with an older boyfriend or relative.
Gauging the impact the program has had on the infant-mortality rate is difficult because the annual statistics fluctuate, Parish Perkins said.
Officials don’t know why Tarrant County has such a high infant-mortality rate.
What is certain is that the Birthing Project, which gets funding from the March of Dimes, is doing what it set out to do.
“We’re here for the long haul,” Parish Perkins said.
BY THE NUMBERS
7.5 per 1,000: Infant-mortality rate in Tarrant County.
6.6 per 1,000: Infant-mortality rate in Texas.
6.9 per 1,000: Infant-mortality rate in United States.
4.5 per 1,000: The goal by 2010 as set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCE: Tarrant County Infant Mortality Report based on 2003 data
IN THE KNOW
Support program
The Fort Worth/Dallas Birthing Project is a community-based volunteer program aimed at reducing the infant-mortality rate in North Texas. The organization matches “little sisters” with mentors called “SisterFriends” who provide support during pregnancy and for a year after the child’s birth.
Who’s eligible for help: The program targets young African-American and Hispanic women because of their disproportionately low birth weights and infant-mortality rates, but young women of all races are accepted.
To volunteer: Call 817-390-2822 or e-mail lwiley@bigplanet.com
Online: www.fwdbirthingproject.org
SOURCE: www.fwdbirthingproject.org
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Jan Jarvis, 817-548-5423 jjarvis@star-telegram.com
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Copyright (c) 2007, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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