There’s no ‘how-to’ guide to parenthood, but there is the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program at the University of Texas Permian Basin. The grant-based initiative called First Five is part of the UT Permian Basin School of Nursing. It’s designed to to help growing families adapt to the life-changes that come with bringing a brand new baby into the world.
Since joining First Five in May of 2014, NFP has helped countless first-time mothers manage their pregnancy and navigate their child’s first two years of life. Registered Nurse Tonya Clark has had a front row seat to a lot of those new beginnings.
“It’s something I love being a part of,” Clark said. “Our goal is to help educate them and our goal is for them to have a happy and healthy pregnancy.”
Clients enrolled in NFP are partnered with a nurse home visitor, like Clark, who will check-in with them every two weeks and walk with the mothers-to-be through their first pregnancy.
Dr. Diana Ruiz, the Interim Program Director of First Five, says they don’t help just one type of mom. She says they’ve helped teen moms all the way to first-time mothers in their 50s.
“The program tailors and meets the needs of perhaps, at-risk mothers who are in their first pregnancy,” she said. “I think it transcends the nurse relationship with the mother.”
Clark has found that being part of NFP is so much more than just nursing -- she becomes a mentor and a friend to her clients.
“It’s just a really neat bond we form with clients,” she said. “They feel like they have someone they can trust and rely on.”
Clark’s job does not end after a successful birth. She stays with the brand-new mothers through their baby’s first two years of life, helping mom and baby through each major milestone.
“Being a first time mom is scary, that’s why we’re here,” Dr. Ruiz said. “Becoming a mother is a huge milestone. Doing the best in raising your children is yet another milestone.”
Dr. Ruiz’s goal is to grow the NFP program and meet the needs of more West Texas families. She says part of her job is to help secure more funding to ensure that happens.
“Everyone is committed to one purpose: benefitting our community, proving outcomes and promoting a happy, healthy pregnancy,” she said. “We couldn’t do it without the support of UT Permian Basin. The support from everyone allows us to prep families and their children for school and in the future to become a responsible member of society.”
Clark says it’s a process she loves being part of: getting the next generation started on the right foot.
“Seeing moms from where they started, to where they finish is very gratifying for me,” she said.
Qualifications for the NFP program include enrolling before 28-weeks gestation; must be an expectant mother’s first pregnancy; and she must be enrolled in either Medicaid or WIC. You can learn more about NFP and other family-early childhood programs offered by UT Permian Basin’s First Five at utpb.edu.
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