Our first group of pregnant moms met in Bastrop on Tuesday, November 5th at Morehouse General Hospital. Each mom participated in a group education session with Dr. Tonya Hunter, OB/GYN, a Nurturing Parenting class with Parent Educator, Gatha Haynes. This group will meet every other Tuesday, and the program is free. 

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - MORE4U is a program for pregnant moms in Morehouse and Union Parish. The program provides free prenatal care along with dinner and nurturing parenting classes. This program supports healthy pregnancy outcomes as well as providing a support system for moms.

This program is run by the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana, is supported by the Aetna Foundation and aims to help pregnant moms have healthier babies by providing free Centering Pregnancy and Nurturing Parenting sessions at Morehouse and Union General Hospitals.
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They will meet every other Tuesday from 5:30-8 PM where childcare, dinner, and door prizes will be provided. This program is free and you can sign up by calling 318-323-8775 or going to childrenscoalition.org/more4u.

​​Every pregnant mom wants what’s best for her baby. If you, or someone you know, is a teenager and pregnant, a new free program is coming to Morehouse and Union parishes—MORE4U. Pregnant teens and a trusted adult meet twice a month in the evening at a local hospital to share a meal, meet with an OB-GYN and learn from a trained Parent Educator. The program is also available for pregnant moms, not just for pregnant teen moms. MORE4U brings together two evidence-based programs that support healthy pregnancy outcomes—Nurturing Skills for Teen Parents & Centering Pregnancy. The program will be bi-lingual in Union parish. Research has shown that increased pre-natal care and parent education help decrease the incidence of low-birth weight babies in teen pregnancies. 
 
What makes MORE4U unique is the combination of two evidence-based programs and the inclusion of a trusted adult to provide a consistent, evidence-based approach to parenting and prenatal care that can reduce the risk of low birth weight babies. Nurturing Skills for Teen Parents is an evidence-­based program that includes basic skills of parenting to increase attachment and healthy child development while helping manage the unique challenges of being a teen parent. Centering group prenatal care provides extended time with an OB-GYN every other week. Moms engage in their care by taking their own weight and blood pressure and recording their own health data with private time with their provider for belly check. Dr. Tonya Hawkins-Hunter, OB-GYN will work with a trained Nurturing Parenting educator from the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana to provide the free program. 
  
In Union Parish, the program will be at Union General Hospital, 901 James Ave, Farmerville, every other Tuesday from 5:30-8:00 and will include dinner and childcare. In Union parish, the parent liaison is Natali Turrubiartes. Natali is from Berniece, but she works with community initiatives like U-ACT to help youth connect to services. She will lead the Union Parish sessions in English and Spanish. “We are looking for teens who are less than 20 weeks pregnant, but we are open for everyone,” says Natali. “Our goal is to bring together teens and someone who supports them to learn more about their babies and themselves.” 

In Morehouse Parish, the program will be at Morehouse General Hospital, 323 W. Walnut Ave, Bastrop, every other Tuesday from 5:30-8:00 and will include dinner and childcare. In Morehouse Parish, the parent liaison is Anna Akins. Anna is a Bastrop native – along with her husband and three children – and currently works with Kids 1st Morehouse, a community coalition that is working to increase developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers in Morehouse Parish. Anna also has a bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies as well as serving as a home visitor for Parents as Teachers. Even as a stay-at-home mom, Anna never stopped using her voice to advocate for children to ensure they have a healthy start to life. “We are looking for teens who are less than 20 weeks pregnant, but we are open for everyone,” says Anna. “Our goal is to bring together teens and someone who supports them to learn more about their babies and themselves.”  
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“MORE4U is not a program it’s a ministry. Ministering to the needs of pregnant teens in our parish by providing pre-natal care and parent education,” says Rev. Tommy Carr. “Teens will have a support system whenever, whatever and wherever needed. We are blessed to have a hospital engaged in the community providing a place for this ministry.” 
 
Interested teens can call the Coalition main office at 318-322-8775 or go online at childrenscoalition.org/more4u to get information or sign up. The program is sponsored by AETNA Foundation for Louisiana and the Children’s Coalition in partnership with the Well Woman Center and Union General Hospital. MORE4U is free and set to begin in late October. 

​We enjoyed attending Babies Love Books at the Union Parish Library! This program brings new moms to the library by offering a baby's first library book. The Children's Coalition is proud to provide play-days throughout the year as well as parenting support.

Babies Love Books will be held every Saturday at 10am in the Community Room.