Three months after giving birth to her daughter Autumn at Touro hospital, Amber Leduff enrolled in a program that would send a nurse directly to her home. In the hospital chaos after delivery, the program representatives had handed her paperwork that barely registered. But when her doctor pushed her to join, she listened.
That decision connected her to Family Connects New Orleans, a home-visit program that sends nurses to postpartum mothers up to three times during the first twelve weeks after birth. The visits are free and available to anyone who delivers at either Ochsner Baptist or Touro hospital and lives in Orleans Parish, regardless of insurance or income.
When the nurse arrived at four weeks postpartum, she brought a weight scale to check on Autumn's growth between pediatric appointments. But the visit extended far beyond clinical measurements. "She checked on the baby, talked to me and my husband about our specific needs and how I'm actually doing," Leduff said. "I know sometimes the mom kind of just gets tossed to the side when it's all about the baby, but she was very engaging in conversation with us, making sure that we were OK and had all the necessities that we needed."
The nurse also handed Leduff information about city services she didn't know existed. Leduff passed those resources along to cousins and friends who had recently given birth, creating a ripple effect of support across her network.
Family Connects is not unique to New Orleans. The program, originally launched as Durham Connects in Durham, North Carolina in 2008, now operates in counties or cities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and beyond. New Orleans launched its own version in August 2023.
The Cliff After Discharge
Jennifer Avegno, deputy mayor of health and human services, describes the postpartum period bluntly. "You go, you have your delivery, you're in the hospital and everything is there. You go home, there's a bit of a honeymoon period, and then, for many women, you fall off a cliff. It's the time in your life when your resources are generally at their lowest."
The statistics back that urgency. In 2021, 43.3 percent of pregnancy-related deaths occurred in the six weeks following delivery. While Louisiana has improved clinical treatment for conditions like hypertension and hemorrhage, the early postpartum period remains the highest-risk window.
Existing programs like WIC and Healthy Start support children and nutrition, but nothing addressed that critical window between discharge and the first postnatal checkup. Family Connects fills that void. Avegno noted that most developed countries offer multiple postpartum home visits and achieve significantly better birth outcomes as a result.
Meshawn Siddiq, director of family health and wellbeing, witnessed the gaps firsthand. "They wouldn't tell the provider that they couldn't afford the medications, so you have very sick patients going to their prenatal appointment and not getting the support that they need," she said. "Or they would go into the hospital, have their baby and go home and not take their medications."
The nurses do more than take vital signs. They conduct comprehensive social service evaluations of the entire household, screen for postpartum depression, provide breastfeeding support, and connect families with mental health resources, social workers, and other services they may not realize they need. For families without insurance, these visits may be their only health services in that critical window.
Avegno stressed the holistic nature of the assessment. "If grandma lives in the home, what's going on with grandma? If there's a three-year-old in the home, what do they need? It is a very active, warm handoff and confirmation that you're getting the help you need."
Melissa Goldin Evans, an assistant professor at Tulane's School of Public Health who interviewed participating families, emphasized the mental health component. "We know that maternal mental health is a major risk factor for maternal morbidity and mortality in the postpartum period. There's just not a lot of support for that, especially for first time moms or single moms. To have someone come in and even just say, 'You're doing okay.' 'This is normal.' Just having someone ease those early days worries can go a really long way for someone's mental and behavioural wellbeing."
The program is designed to complement, not replace, critical post-birth appointments like the six-week checkup. The first nurse visit typically occurs around week three, offering early intervention before families even reach that follow-up doctor's appointment.
Family Connects New Orleans has also begun offering monthly maternal support groups, giving mothers a chance to connect during a period that often feels isolating.
Early data shows measurable returns. Participation in Family Connects has led to reductions in Medicaid spending for mothers and babies nine months after delivery. The city initially funded the pilot, but the program's success has prompted conversations with the state about securing commercial insurance and Medicaid coverage.
Avegno described the broader impact beyond dollars. "We found that what that does is build trust in the healthcare system. The healthcare system is really scary and often cold and appears unfeeling, especially if you've had a baby. This is a way where we can say: 'We really just want to know what you need and how we can meet that need.'"
Author James Rodriguez: "Too many mothers fall through the cracks in those first weeks home with a newborn, and New Orleans finally has a program treating that gap like the emergency it is."
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