Empowering New Moms at Every Step

When Destaynae Jameson talks about Katie Montgomery, the nurse supporting her through Le Bonheur’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program, her eyes grow bright and a wide smile breaks out across her face.

“My nurse is basically a part of my family at this point — she’s a friend,” said Jameson, who first met Montgomery in fall of 2022
after enrolling in NFP. “Katie is somebody I would invite to my baby’s christening, my baby’s birthday party … she’s on the guest list, and I say that because she looks after me as if I’m a sister or a friend. I can talk to my nurse about anything; there’s no such thing as a dumb question. Even if I just want to talk about life stuff, Katie is there.”

For Jameson, getting connected with NFP was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. While working for the Memphis New Mothers Study, she became pregnant with her first child and a nurse colleague suggested she look into Nurse-Family Partnership — an evidence-based home visitation program for first-time mothers. NFP participants are enrolled prenatally prior to their 29th week of pregnancy and regularly receive free, one-on-one in-home visits with a Le Bonheur nurse until their child’s second birthday.

Le Bonheur's Nurse-Family Partnership aims to:

• Improve pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in good preventive health practices, including obtaining thorough prenatal care, improving their diets and reducing use of cigarettes, alcohol and illegal substances.

• Improve child health and development by helping parents provide responsible and competent care, educating clients about child growth and development and performing child development assessment screenings.

• Improve families' economic self-sufficiency by helping parents develop a vision for their future, plan future pregnancies, continue their education, find work and connect with community resources.

“Our nurses walk alongside our moms as they journey through pregnancy into motherhood, empowering them, educating them and supporting them every step of the way until their baby turns 2 years old,” said Charol Hewitt, NFP’s Lead Community Home Visitation Program Educator. “I also love that NFP nurses can accompany clients to OB/GYN and pediatrician appointments. This program provides support beyond the walls of the hospital and beyond the walls of each family’s home, and it’s 100% free to every client who enrolls.”

Despite her co-worker’s endorsement and NFP’s perceived perks, Jameson initially felt unsure about signing up as she did not know if, or how, the program would benefit her and her family.

“I personally did not think I was in need when I joined the program, so my nurse helped me to understand that, as a first-time mom, needs look different for everybody,” said Jameson. “I didn’t know I needed emotional support, breastfeeding support, hands-on support, that one-on-one experience — and NFP is literally just support for the mom in any way, shape or form she sees fit. Yes, the nurse is there to make sure baby’s okay, but really, they are there to make sure mom is okay, transitioning okay and getting used to being a mom.”

NFP mom Denise Stewart and daughter ZeMirah Howard eagerly await their moment to walk across the stage and celebrate more than two years of partnership with their family’s dedicated nurse. Clients enroll in NFP prior to their 29th week of pregnancy and graduate from the program following their child’s second birthday.

Expanding NFP Support Across West Tennessee

Funded through state, federal and private foundation grants, and with support from the Nurse-Family Partnership Incentive Fund, Le Bonheur’s Nurse-Family Partnership program is backed by more than 40 years of scientifically proven outcomes for mom and baby. The program has served more than 1,300 families since its establishment in 2010, and its reach has expanded exponentially in recent years. What began as one team of four nurse home visitors has grown to two teams of eight nurses serving Shelby County and a third eight-person team serving families in Fayette, Haywood, Madison and Tipton Counties. According to NFP Clinical Director Becky Carroll, MSN, RN, the newly expanded teams will have the capacity to serve 600 families concurrently when the program is fully staffed. Additionally, the program’s expansion to surrounding counties in West Tennessee is better positioning Le Bonheur to support families in rural communities facing health disparities around maternal-fetal outcomes.

Nurse-Family Partnership studies have found the program successful in improving birth outcomes, improving maternal health and well-being, reducing preterm birth rates, reducing welfare use, improving a child's cognitive development, reducing ER visits for accidents and poisonings and reducing child abuse and neglect.

Of Le Bonheur's NFP participants:

• 88% of babies were born at 37 weeks or later
• 76% of mothers initiated breastfeeding
• 86% of toddlers were current with immunizations at 24 months
• 97% of clients said since joining NFP, they feel more positive about parenting

“There are so many high-risk, underserved moms out there who do not know how to navigate the medical system, and having someone walk alongside them, teach them and empower them to advocate for themselves is our #1 goal,” said NFP Clinical Manager Carrie Hetzler, BSN, RN. “First-time parenthood is an overwhelming transition for everyone, no matter who you are, and some of our clients have absolutely no support system whatsoever. Everybody needs someone, and our NFP nurses come into the home to provide support, encouragement, resources and help with goal-setting through the first two years of a baby’s life.”

Carroll is also quick to emphasize that while NFP nurses undergo comprehensive training and use an evidence-based curriculum designed to promote positive birth outcomes, the program is heavily personalized to meet the needs of each individual client.

“We’re not walking in the homes and telling our clients what to do,” said Carroll. “We’re walking alongside them, finding out what’s important to them and structuring our care and support accordingly. It really is a partnership.”

Destaynae Jameson, left, views her family’s designated NFP nurse, Katie Montgomery, right, as a member of the family. Katie began partnering with the Jameson family during Destaynae’s first pregnancy with Gracyn, center, and will continue holding regular home visits until Gracyn and Destaynae graduate Le Bonheur’s Nurse-Family Partnership in spring of 2025. 

Changing Lives One Milestone at a Time

For Jameson, what began as a tentative step toward prenatal support became a life-changing partnership in more ways than one. Following the birth of her daughter, Gracyn, in 2023, Jameson underwent an extended hospital stay due to complications from preeclampsia. When she and her daughter returned home, Nurse Katie was right there.

“She helped me adapt to motherhood and manage my medications, as well as taking care of a newborn,” said Jameson. “It made life so much easier having that extra support and help. Katie made me know I could succeed even during those times when I felt like I was going to fail.”

Today, Gracyn is an active, healthy toddler who will celebrate her second birthday in February. According to Jameson, the only downside of her daughter’s 2-year milestone is their family’s subsequent graduation from the Nurse-Family Partnership program — an occasion that can feel bittersweet for NFP moms and nurses alike. Even so, the bonds formed between program nurses and the parents and children they support often extend far beyond each family’s graduation date.

“When your clients are walking across that stage and you remember the moment you first met that family, and had the honor of being welcomed into their home, getting to know them during their pregnancy and watching them grow as parents — it’s so amazing and impactful,” said Carroll, who began her career with NFP as a nurse home visitor before growing into the roles of supervisor, clinical manager and today, clinical director. “For me, the happiest and most heartfelt days are when we have a graduation and see all these clients where we’ve made a difference in their lives and learned so much from one another.”

Creating a Pipeline of Program Ambassadors

While Jameson’s nurse-client relationship with Nurse Katie will draw to a close this spring, these days the two have many new opportunities to cross paths. In May 2024, Jameson joined Le Bonheur’s Nurse-Family Partnership team as the program’s newest Community Home Visitation Program Educator, managing outreach, education, advocacy and recruitment initiatives for prospective NFP clients in the program’s newly served counties of Tipton, Madison, Haywood and Fayette. Jameson’s profoundly enriching experience as a program participant makes her a remarkable ambassador for potential clients who are unsure if NFP might be the right fit for them.

“One thing I tell every expecting mom is that help looks different for everybody because this program is so personalized to the individual, and it’s okay to ask for and accept that help,” said Jameson. “You won’t be looked down upon because you’re receiving help, getting support and getting advice — just like going to school. In school, we get help from our teachers, and that’s what my nurse was for me. She was my teacher.” 

The Nurse-Family Partnership’s efficacy and lasting positive impact on first-time mothers has gained the program more than one new ambassador. Charol Hewitt, who serves as Jameson’s counterpart in the Lead Community Home Visitation Program Educator role, also got her start with NFP as a participant. Hewitt signed up for the program at a community baby shower when she was 24-weeks pregnant; little did she know how transformational NFP would be for her both personally and professionally. When Hewitt’s nurse encouraged her to share a testimonial with prospective participants, the experience quickly sparked an interest in championing for the program in an official capacity.

“I loved talking to people about NFP so much that after one speaking engagement, I told my friends and family members, ‘I’m going to work for them someday’,” said Hewitt, whose dream came to fruition when she assumed the program educator role in February of 2022.

Charol Hewitt, center, serves as Le Bonheur’s Lead Nurse-Family Partnership Community Home Visitation Program Educator. Mom to two active sons, Gavin and Landon, Charol graduated from NFP after Gavin’s second birthday and draws on her own experiences with the program to help engage new and prospective clients. 

Like Jameson, Hewitt was unsure how participation in Nurse-Family Partnership would ultimately help her and her family, but the benefits have been far-reaching and beyond anything she imagined. In addition to support with clinical concerns, such as gestational hypertension, and creation of a birth plan, NFP provided Hewitt with facts, tangible resources and evidence-based parenting tips that served to debunk false truths and old-wives tales she had learned in other circles.

“There is a lot of misinformation circulating about motherhood that’s simply not true, and the facts I learned from my nurse were invaluable,” said Hewitt. “The readings and materials my family received from the program are resources I still use when parenting.”

Hewitt also credits NFP with helping her feel better prepared to navigate her second pregnancy, despite no longer having access to a dedicated nurse partner. Among other things, she cites NFP as the likely reason she did not experience gestational hypertension during her second pregnancy, and credits the program for helping her husband become a stronger support person during labor. Both Hewitt and Jameson, who is expecting her second child any day now, view the Nurse-Family Partnership as a “life-changing” opportunity and take seriously their chance to connect other mothers with the umbrella of support and empowerment offered through NFP.

“When my first son, Gavin, was born, I really thought that was it — I can just be a mom, I can’t do anything else,” said Hewitt. “My nurse continued to remind me that before I was a mom, I was Charol, and that I can accomplish and succeed in so many things. Through her empowerment, I’ve discovered new talents, conquered some pretty tall mountains and been able to achieve so much more than I ever thought possible. And it’s that—the empowerment — I hope to pass along to every mom who follows after.”