POSTED: 2:08 p.m. PST April 1, 2003
UPDATED: 2:14 p.m. PST April 1, 2003
SAN DIEGO -- Jihada Huey, 17, has big dreams for herself and for her infant son.
She wants to go to college and become a registered nurse. She wants her son, Isaac, to grow up healthy and strong.
Huey is closer to realizing both dreams, thanks to a Project QKids program called The San Diego Birthing Project.
Funded by cigarette tax money through the
First 5 Commission of San Diego, The San Diego Birthing Project improves the lives of newborns and their mothers by providing direction, emotional support, and education.
The program is aimed toward teenaged mothers, and women who may be living on their own. It also provides services to military wives and dependents, who could be facing motherhood alone during this time of war.
Project director, Cynthia Boyd, says that many of these mothers arrive home from the hospital to find they have no real understanding of how to care for their babies.
"What happens now that the baby is home -- hello! You've read all the stories and you've seen all the books, but what happens with hands on, and that's where our in-home parent educator comes in," Boyd said.
Volunteers, called SisterFriends, provide the in-home visits. The San Diego Birthing Project paired Huey up with a SisterFriend named Charlotte.
"We talk about different things ... we have a chart that she helps me on to make sure that he's doing everything he's supposed to be doing at the right age," Huey said.
Her SisterFriend makes sure Huey knows how to do everything Isaac needs, from bathing, to breastfeeding. She goes over home safety issues, and teaches Huey how to play with her baby.
The San Diego Birthing Project also provides Huey with necessities, such as diapers and baby clothes. And it looks out for Huey's interests, by helping her find an apartment, as well as the support she needs to get into nursing school.
"We can connect her with our lady through the Black Nurses Association who can then help her through the next steps," Boyd said.
"They have resources, they have mentors, they have scholarships, and that's what we like to do to help them."
The San Diego Birthing Project helps mothers cut through the red tape of applying with social services and government agencies, connects them with drug and alcohol counseling, and offers family planning information.
Best of all, the program is free.
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