Oregon is using visiting nurses to help curb infant and new mother mortality rates; visits may have other benefits

Some of the most complicated human beings to deal with are the tiniest: babies. Often referred to as "bundles of joy" or "little miracles," babies can be cranky, impossible to calm and impervious to sleep. 

With that backdrop, it's fair to say new parents have it tough, and many lack the resources they need to confidently care for a newborn, which can lead to stress, emergency department visits, and even neglect or abuse. To address these needs and provide a response to high infant and mother fatality rates, the state of Oregon implemented an evidence-based program called "Family Connects" that makes life with a newborn better for everyone, reports Cory Turner of NPR. "The program offers any family with a new baby up to three no-cost visits at home with a trained nurse." 

After the birth of their first child, Matt and Amber Luman from rural Jefferson County, Oregon, chose to participate in Family Connects. Turner writes, "Matt and Amber seem genuinely relieved when [Nurse] Ibrahim arrives for her second home visit with them." After baby Esserley gets a thorough medical check, "comes the beating heart of any Family Connects visit: the chance for new parents to ask a registered nurse whatever they want. . . . Some share their confusion or frustration. Others are eager for advice or comfort in those early weeks of a baby’s life when new parents are most likely to feel exhausted and adrift."

The Oregon Health Authority based the state's program on a small, successful Family Connects model developed in Durham, N.C. "Research from its smaller rollout there found it was associated with a handful of significant benefits, including a big drop in the number of trips new parents were making to the emergency room," Turner reports. "A study of Family Connects in Durham found mothers in the program were 30% less likely to experience possible postpartum depression or anxiety."

Oregon policymakers used the Durham program model and expanded it to a statewide outreach. "Every nurse acts as a kind of human clearinghouse of local and regional support for caregivers," Turner explains. "If a family is struggling with housing or food insecurity or addiction, the nurse will connect them with local groups and agencies that can help. Mental health counseling, marriage counseling, child care while mom or dad finishes their degree online."

In Durham's smaller rollout, the program "suggested a real return on investment," Turner reports. "Rolling out Family Connects in Oregon has been a costly struggle." From the pandemic to the nursing shortage to trying to cover a state that can be widely rural, Oregon's program has been expensive. It remains to be seen if the "benefits of Family Connects will outweigh the costs."