Supporting healthy families with Family Lifeline

October 3, 2019

When Ana first became pregnant in 2013, she had no knowledge of how to have a healthy pregnancy or support her infant’s development. In preparation to become a new mom, she enrolled in Family Lifeline’s Healthy Families program in Petersburg. This program provides home visitation, skills-based curricula and connections to community resources in order to support and educate new parents on how to raise safe, healthy children who are ready to succeed in school and in life.

Through Healthy Families, Ana learned about how children’s minds and bodies develop, the importance of reading to her child, and activities she could do with her child to enhance development. And three years later, when her second child was born with impaired oxygen levels, the support of her home visitor helped Ana advocate for her child in the medical system to get the care she needed.

Ana says that the support she has received throughout her participation in home visiting services has made a difference in her ability to observe her children’s development, and she feels very successful teaching her children “a lot of things so they can be ready for school.”

“Now that my oldest began school, the school sends me a lot of achievement diplomas, and at school conferences the teacher always congratulates me for the work I have been doing with my son,” Ana said. “I am so thankful to Family Lifeline for offering this service.”