Ellington

While Re:Start is best known for getting adults back on the career track, Chattanooga’s Center for Adult Education also offers a program called Baby Basics, which combines prenatal health education with appropriate literacy training and community support for expectant mothers.

“This program not only empowers women to learn the vocabulary associated with pregnancy and build relationships with their physicians, but it also gets them involved in their pregnancies,” said Re:Start health literacy coordinator Judith Miller, who oversees the program which she described as being like the ever-popular “What to Expect When Expecting,” only presented in a much more accessible, “user-friendly” way.

She said the information provided during Baby Basics is paramount because there is a direct and observable correlation between the literacy of the parent and the well-being of the child.

“Literacy affects one’s life in all kinds of ways, and in the case of the women I work with (it affects) their health and that of their unborn babies,” Miller said.

Statistics show that Tennessee ranks 45th in the country for infant mortality, with Hamilton County having the second highest rate of the four largest metro areas in the state and the second highest rate of infants with low birth weight.

Miller said these statstics lend a real urgency to the work being done through the Baby Basics program. Re:Start has offered Baby Basics for the past two years. The program is on its last year of funding through the Junior League as a part of the “Healthy Babies, Healthy Children” campaign.

“We feel that if we can work with these mothers, we can hopefully make an impact on the well-being of the children,” Miller said.

Baby Basics participant Christina Vargas, who learned about the program from the nurse at her doctor’s office, went through Baby Basics with three other women at the Southside Mom’s Club location.

Vargas said other moms further along in their pregnancies than she was at the time were very helpful about sharing advice on the stages of pregnancy and how to prepare for the delivery.

As far as the course itself, Vargas said the information presented was beneficial and comprehensive. She said each participant was provided with a Baby Basics textbook with lots of great features, like a glossary, recipes and advice on healthy food choices.

“The book goes month to month and was really helpful,” Vargas said. “I read it one month at a time, and it told me about how my baby was growing and things like that.”

Vargas said meetings also focused on issues like car-seat safety and preparing their houses for the babies.

According to Miller, many of the moms-to-be are going through unplanned pregnancies, which can be really unnerving.

“During their time with us, these mothers develop relationships with other women who are going through the same thing,” she said. “They also develop relationships with their babies for the first time.”

Expectant mother Maycie Butler, of Hixson, is currently attending Baby Basics classes at the Soddy Daisy Mom’s Club. She said she found out about the program when she was only 2 weeks pregnant, and got a “quick jump start” into her pregnancy education.

“Baby Basics has been 100 percent good for me,” Butler said. “I have already recommended the program to two of my friends who are pregnant.”

According to Butler, the information presented during the meetings encompasses “the good, the bad and the ugly.” She said that she has found a support system among participants and facilitators.

“Those women have been a big part of my entire pregnancy,” said Butler, whose son is due in July. “I go to every single meeting relgiously and I look forward to them. I think anyone would feel the same way.”

At the completion of the program, the Baby Basics participants get to attend a big baby shower to celebrate. Miller said it’s a time for all the moms to get together, bring their babies and have a good time.