Email to a Friend

Printer Friendly Version

Also on the Web Women & Infants Hospital

Barbara Palumbo was thrilled to find out she was pregnant with little Nathan. It wasn't until after he was born, that those feelings began to change.

"I was thinking becoming a new mom would be a happy time, a fun time. It was a planned pregnancy and I just did not feel happy. I felt completely overwhelmed."

Barbara's concerns, though normal, developed into a condition known as postpartum depression. That was when she found the "Mom to Mom" program available through Women and Infants Hospital.

"Our babies do not come out with how to manuals,"  says program director Sally Harrison.

Through the program experienced moms are trained to help other moms get through the tough times of early parenting.

"We train volunteers, who are experienced mothers themselves, to go out into the homes of moms and newborns or women in their late stages of pregnancy and visit with them weekly for an hour a week until the baby is a year old," says Sally.

Kira Richardson was one of the first "Mom to Mom" volunteers. She is a mother to a three year old with another on the way. Kira was paired up with Barbara, when Nathan was two months old.

"The first words out of her mouth, when I saw her for the first time, was 'This is really hard,' and I just so could identify with that," says Kira.

"It was great to have someone there to talk to and to learn from," says Babara.  "Kira had a lot of good advice and she'd tell me, 'It's gonna get better.'" 

It did get better. Through their unique partnership, Nathan and Barbara are happier and are looking forward to a wonderful partnership themselves.

The "Mom to Mom" program is currently looking for more experienced mom volunteers. If you want more infromation about how you can volunteer, or just about the program itself, you can call 474-1122 or Click Here.