It still takes a village: How nurses are helping new mothers at home

More than 30 years of research

This evidence-based model has a proven track record of more than 30 years of research with effective results. In randomized controlled trials, Nurse-Family Partnership has resulted in:

• Improved prenatal health
• Decreased childhood injuries
• Fewer subsequent pregnancies
• Increased maternal employment
• Increased intervals between births
• Improved school readiness

Longer-term results have shown:

• 72 percent fewer convictions among mothers
• 48 percent reduction in child abuse and neglect
• 59 percent reduction in arrests among children

Benefit to the community

Not only do the new moms and their babies benefit from participation in this program, but their families, as well as the entire community, do as well. President Obama is very supportive of programs such as Nurse-Family Partnership, and National Journal reports "Section 2951 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a grant provision for early-childhood home visitation programs that promote improved maternal, prenatal, infant and child health. Section 399V promotes healthy lifestyles and uses grants and education to support community health workers—including those working for home visitation services."

Nurse-Family Partnership goals

• Improving pregnancy outcomes by focusing on preventive health care such as prenatal care, nutrition and smoking cessation
• Improving childhood health and development by educating new moms on ways to become responsible, competent parenting figures
• Improving the ability for new moms to become economically self-sufficient by helping them formulate a plan for the future, including pregnancy planning, education and jobs

Nurse-Family Partnership receives training from the National Service Office so that all programs follow the same guidelines, providing consistency in all community programs.

Key elements

Several key elements form the basis for the Nurse-Family Partnership program:

• Participation in the program must be voluntary, and the clients must be low-income first-time moms. Enrollment must begin in early pregnancy, with the first home visit by the nurse no later than the end of the 28th week of pregnancy.
• Nurses visit the moms in their home on a one-to-one basis with continuing visits throughout the first two years of the child's life.
• Nurses making home visits and their nurse supervisors are RNs with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in nursing. They complete training by the Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office in order to deliver care consistent with the Nurse-Family Partnership model guidelines.
• The caseload of the home visitor nurse is 25 clients or fewer. A nursing supervisor is responsible for a maximum of eight nurse home visitors. The supervisor role includes one-to-one clinical supervision, case conferences and team meetings, as well as field supervision.
• Nurses and supervisors collect data for ongoing continued research.

Nurse-Family Partnership is a community-based program that has been shown to transform the lives of new moms, their children, their community and society.