Family Connects New Orleans is providing crucial postpartum support to mothers through home-based nurse visits, offering a model for how governments can help families during the vulnerable period after childbirth. The program, which serves Orleans Parish residents who give birth at Ochsner Baptist or Touro hospital, offers up to three free in-home visits for parents of newborns up to 12 weeks old, regardless of insurance or income.
Amber Leduff, 30, gave birth to her daughter Autumn at Touro hospital about three months ago. Initially overwhelmed by the post-delivery chaos, she only half-registered the program representatives. However, encouraged by her doctor, she enrolled. Four weeks after birth, a nurse visited her home, bringing her own weight table to check Autumn's weight between pediatric visits. The nurse also assessed Leduff's well-being and connected her to city services she didn't know existed, information she then shared with cousins and friends. Leduff described the visit as reassuring, especially as a first-time parent: 'Every question I had, she took with ease and answered thoroughly.'
Addressing the Critical Postpartum Period
In 2021, 43.3% of pregnancy-related deaths occurred within six weeks of delivery. Family Connects aims to fill the gap between birth and the first postnatal appointment. Originally launched in Durham, North Carolina, in 2008, the program now operates in several states, including North and South Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas. New Orleans' version began in August 2023.
Jennifer Avegno, deputy mayor of health and human services, noted that while Louisiana has improved clinical care for conditions like hypertension and hemorrhage, the highest risk remains in the early postpartum period. 'You go home, there’s a bit of a honeymoon period, and then, for many women, you fall off a cliff,' she said. The program provides clinical evaluations for both mother and baby, screens for postpartum depression, offers breastfeeding support, and connects families to community resources. It also now hosts monthly maternal support groups to combat isolation.
Building Trust and Improving Outcomes
Nurses conduct comprehensive social service evaluations of the entire household. For uninsured families, these visits may be the only health services they receive. Meshawn Siddiq, director of family health and wellbeing, explained that before FCNO, families often hid financial struggles from providers, leading to untreated conditions. Nurses now encourage medication adherence and link families to social workers, counselors, and psychiatrists.
Melissa Goldin Evans, an assistant professor at Tulane’s School of Public Health, emphasized that maternal mental health is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. The program eases early worries, providing reassurance that 'this is normal' and reducing stress. FCNO participation has led to reduced Medicaid spending for mothers and babies nine months after delivery. The city is now in talks with the state to secure commercial insurance and Medicaid coverage for the program.
'We found that what that does is build trust in the healthcare system,' Avegno said. 'This is a way where we can say: “We really just want to know what you need and how we can meet that need.”'
