Pregnant women can get free support from a personal nurse

Kori Bodle has faced several exciting challenges during the past few months, including launching a career, getting a driver’s license, buying a car, and planning a wedding.

Now pregnant with her first child, she appreciates the advice from the personal nurse provided through Project Self-Sufficiency’s Nurse Family Partnership program, especially as she navigates her first pregnancy during a pandemic.

“I didn’t think I would be able to have children, so just getting pregnant was a surprise,” said Bodle, who works as a behavioral technician at a Sussex County drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility and has started coursework towards the next step in her career. “We had a case of Covid-19 at work, so I stopped working for a week. I got tested and went back to work. I want to get certified as a peer recovery specialist.”

Women who are pregnant with their first child can receive regular visits from a nurse in the privacy of their own home through the Nurse Family Partnership program offered by Project Self-Sufficiency in Newton. Due to the current public health crisis, all contact has been modified to replace in-person visits with video chat platforms and telehealth options.

Eligible, first-time mothers of all ages are paired with a nurse who visits them throughout the pregnancy and up until the child’s second birthday. The nonprofit Nurse-Family Partnership is founded on the pioneering work of David Olds, professor of pediatrics, psychiatry, and preventive medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver, whose nurse home visitation program helped first-time, low-income moms and their children. The initiative is one of three home visitation programs for young mothers provided by Project Self-Sufficiency to families in northwestern New Jersey.

The visiting nurses provide support, education, and counseling on health, behavioral, and self-sufficiency issues.

“Our goal is to improve pregnancy outcomes, and to assist parents with improving early childhood development, while helping the family to move towards economic self-sufficiency,” said Deborah Berry-Toon, executive director of Project Self-Sufficiency.

“Thanks to the Nurse Family Partnership, I feel like I’ve been educated, and I have learned about resources I didn’t even know existed,” said Bodle. “My nurse has been great. She has sent me all kinds of information about different subjects, like labor and delivery, along with a growth chart for the baby. We have been doing Zoom meetings and talking on the phone. Knowing she is there is reassuring. I wish we could meet in person – I can’t wait. She’s really awesome.”

To learn more, call 973-940-3500 or 844-807-3500, or visit projectselfsufficiency.org.