May 20, 2007: Mothers of newborns get baskets of goodies

by Holly Angelo, published in the Sunday Republican, May 20, 2007, with photograph by Michael S. Gordon

Posing with gift baskets for new mothers at Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services are Lyn M. Hollinger, coordinator for the Welcome Baby program and a registered dietitian, left , and Marie Peirent, program director at Thom.

SPRINGFIELD - About four to six weeks after a mother delivers her newborn baby at Mercy Medical Center she receives a knock at her front door.

    On her doorstep she will find someone from one of eight Springfield-based children's agencies holding a large plastic basket filled with everything from infant socks and a toother to a snack cup and books. The home visit includes the presentation of the basket and a four-page questionnaire to see if the needs of the mother and child are being met.

   "The last question is, 'Have you read to your baby yet?'," said Lyn M. Hollinger, program dietitian for Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services. "We tell them it's never too early to start reading to your baby."

   Hollinger is the program coordinator of the Welcome Baby Basket and Home Visiting Program, an 18-month pilot program at Mercy that is managed by Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services with a $60,000 grant from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation's Cherish Every Child initiative.

    The program is open to Springfield women who deliver their babies at Mercy. The basket deliveries began in April. More than 40 women will be receiving their baskets in the coming month.

    Jessica M. Willis didn't have to be convinced to sign up for the program. Two weeks ago, she got a knock at her door after giving birth to her second child, Carter J. Lynch, on March 22 at Mercy.

    "It was nice to have another resource to reach out to," said Willis, who also has a 9-year-old daughter, Kayla J. Willis.

    Willis also didn't have to be convinced about how important it is to read to her baby.

    "I think it's definitely important - talking to him and reading to him, just letting him hear language develops his language skills," Willis said. "He just looks at me and listens. I read my mail to him."

    Mercy already conducts a home visit to every new mother a day or two after they return home with their new child. Alice M. Hodge, a registered nurse who is the parenting education coordinator at Mercy's Family Life Center for Maternity, said the Welcome Baby Basket and Home Visiting Program fits in nicely with the hospital's mission.

    "It's really a continuation of what we feel is important," Hodge said. "We're excited because we were originally thinking we'd be doing 15 visits a month and we're doing 40."

    While the basket also contains a wall calendar, note pad, body lotion, tooth brush, baby spoon, blanket, teether toy, pacifier thermometer, toiletry items, medicine spoon, word magnets, a $10 gift certificate to start a bank account, laminated feeding guidelines, a developmental checklist, a stress hotline pamphlet, magnet and other items donated by local service agencies and businesses, the importance of the books and related literacy items are highlighted by Hodge and Hollinger.

    The popular book "Goodnight Moon," donated by the Grinspoon Foundation, is included in every basket.

    "It's very important to start reading to your baby as soon as they're born," Hodge said. "Some people don't even think of that as being important. Some people don't have the resources for books, or they don't understand it's important to start early."

    Hollinger said it was important to make literacy a focus of the program. The basket also includes child development books, a born-to-read pamphlet and other literacy-related items.

    "(Parents) have the wonderful opportunity to be their child's first teacher," Hollinger said. "It's never too early to start. Starting this young helps a child love books. If they're not used to reading, it's not going to become a habit. We want kids to love to learn to read."

STARTING EARLY

The following agencies perform the home visits for the new pilot program Welcome Baby Basket and Home Visiting Program:

Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services
Springfield Day Nursery
Valley Infant Development Services
New North Citizens Council
Family Preservation Project
The Child Guidance Early Intervention Program
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's Early Intervention Program
Vietnamese Health Project