Fort Worth Dallas Birthing Project
The Fort Worth/Dallas Birthing Project is a project which connects volunteers, called "SisterFriends", with high-risk, pregnant teenagers in North Texas, with the aim of reducing the area's infant mortality rate.[1] Volunteers provide emotional and practical support during pregnancy and for one year after birth.[2] Since the program began in 1997, it has helped more than 140 mothers, mainly in the African-American and Hispanic communities of Tarrant County, Texas, where the infant mortality rate is higher than the state and national averages.[1]
The project also runs the Aintie-Tia Program which trains volunteers to support African-American women between 18 and 35 during and after pregnancy with pre- and post-natal education and assistance during labor.[3] Funding is provided by the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth and the Amon G. Carter Foundation.[4]
In 2008, the National Institutes of Health funded a study into the effects of the program on birth outcomes.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jarvis, Jan (2007-02-23). "Healthier mothers, healthier babies". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Star-Telegram Operating, Ltd. pp. B1. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ Jackson, Rachael. "Scanning the Non-profit Community" (PDF). Critical Years: Childhood Wellbeing in Dallas County. The J McDonald Williams Institute. p. 124.
- ^ Carderelli, Kathryn (2007). "Improving perinatal outcomes in African American women: The Aintie Tia Program". American Public Health Association. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14.
- ^ Jarvis, Jan (2007-12-27). "Words of Experience Fight Mortality". Fort Worth Star Telegram. Fort Worth Star Telegram. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ Bassett, Elizabeth (2008-01-21). "Study looks at pregnancy issues". Fort Worth Business Press. The Fort Worth Business Press. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11.