Young Mom Inspires Others
Category: Client Story
February 8, 2023
Bailey was pregnant, just ending her first trimester, and feeling nervous. She sat next to a stranger at a teen parent seminar at the start of 2020. The other mom was three months post-partum and a sophomore in high school. Bailey looked at this other young mom and thought, “wow, I’ll be there some day.” Bailey recalls that meeting someone she could relate to and who had been where she was, made her feel like she could do it too.
Of course, nothing travels in a straight line, especially for a first-time mom! Bailey was only 17 years old and had four months left of high school. Even with her family and her baby’s father supporting her, she was scared and confused. She signed up for Any Baby Can's Nurse-Family Partnership program that supports first-time moms from pregnancy until the baby turns two years old.
Bailey Meets Her Nurse
Bailey was connected to nurse Melissa in March of 2020, just as the Coronavirus pandemic shut everything down. Melissa remembers that day; it was her first virtual call with a new mom. Although she seemed tentative, Melissa could tell that Bailey was a sponge. She wanted to learn everything about childbirth, delivery, newborn care and child development.
Through Any Baby Can, Bailey got information, referrals, connections and friendships that have helped her on her journey into parenting. And at the center of that is her bond with Melissa.
“We didn’t meet in person until fall of 2021; a year after my son was born. We went a year and half without meeting face-to-face. She was one of my biggest support systems,” says Bailey.
As a young mom, Bailey sometimes worried about asking for help. She assumed that everyone thought she was automatically doing something wrong. But with Melissa she felt very open and receptive. Melissa also helped her unlearn some of her defensive responses, and gain confidence in motherhood. Bailey and her partner even started couples counseling through No Estás Solo to help them manage their new reality.
An Inspiration Moving Forward
Although she never went back to her physical high school again, Bailey finished on track in May 2020. In June, she enrolled at Austin Community College, just three months before her son was born. She knew that if she didn’t keep up the momentum, it would be hard to continue her education.
Melissa supported Bailey as she did her studies while pregnant, and then again with a newborn. She guided Bailey when she fell into a self-proclaimed “career crisis.” She got Bailey’s son a referral into our Early Childhood Intervention program when he was showing signs of a speech delay. And through it all, Bailey has felt supported.
Bailey graduates from Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) this spring and is taking what she has gained and sharing it! Bailey has taken on opportunities to share her story and speak on behalf of the program that changed her life. She wants to encourage new moms, especially teen moms, to find the support their growing family deserves.
“This kind of thing – the NFP graduation, putting my story out there, this is ultimately why I keep my head above the water. I know that if I stay strong and I get a success story out there, that helps someone else,” says Bailey
Now, when Bailey sits next to a young pregnant woman, she’ll inspire her to think “wow, someday that’ll be me,” and to feel seen and validated in her experience. And that is how we create a community around parenting as a collective, social responsibility.
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