Matias Sanchez is a healthy 2-year-old boy who loves playing with wooden cars and making holiday crafts. He has pieces celebrating his first Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every time he plays with them, his mother, Angeles, thinks of Kelly Branch, her nurse home visitor with the St. Luke’s Nurse-Family Partnership.
“Kelly connected with me so deeply,” Angeles Sanchez said. “She became someone to talk with, to laugh with, to cry to. It was so much more than a program. It’s something I’ll always cherish.”
Angeles Sanchez, who lives with her husband and son in Allentown, is among more than 3,400 mothers and families the Nurse-Family Partnership, or NFP, has served since 2001.
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are essential for growth, learning and overall health, according to experts. St. Luke’s NFP is dedicated to helping young mothers and their children through this crucial time. The free, voluntary program matches economically disadvantaged mothers with specially trained visiting nurses to navigate their first pregnancies.
St. Luke’s NFP’s 25th anniversary is one of three milestone anniversaries this year for St. Luke’s programs created to help people at various stages of life. The other two: St. Luke’s Community Health Department is commemorating its 30th anniversary, and St. Luke’s Hospice is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Through the Nurse-Family Partnership, nurses make in-home visits, guiding new moms through prenatal care, child development and life skills. They empower first-time mothers to build strong foundations for their families. And in some cases, the nurses become coaches, confidants and friends, as Branch did with Sanchez.
Her first pregnancy was difficult. At her 20-week appointment, Sanchez’s son was diagnosed with a kidney issue that led to a challenging birth and two surgeries.
“It was scary,” she said. “I didn’t expect that to be the outcome of my first pregnancy.”
Branch supported Sanchez from the diagnosis through delivery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the medical procedures. Today, Matias is a healthy, energetic 2-year-old who keeps Sanchez active.
But Sanchez also didn’t expect to suffer from severe postpartum depression after giving birth. She struggled to process the complex postpartum emotions but trusted Branch and asked for help. Branch connected Sanchez with a therapist who helped her through that time.
“What really made the biggest difference for me was postpartum,” she said. “In your first pregnancy, you have such a different expectation of life after the baby is born. But it hit me so hard and threw me way out of my comfort zone because it was such a drastic change. They were there for me when I was going through that.”
Though families graduate from the Nurse-Family Partnership when their kids turn 2, the bonds they form with nurses continue. Sanchez considers Branch part of their family and wants other first-time moms to benefit from the program.
“I would recommend it in a heartbeat,” she said. “It’s not just a program. You have so much guidance and even get a new friend. Some people don’t have a strong support system, and this can help. I would recommend it to anybody for education, support, guidance, everything.”
