The party had all the usual trappings of a baby shower — a group of women, cupcakes, a stack of tiny clothes and handmade quilts.
There was just one major difference. The shower held May 26 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation’s Española office had no expectant mothers in attendance. Instead, the donated items will be distributed to expectant and new mothers who enroll in the First Born program, a project now in its third year that provides in-home education and support to first-time parents.
Among the shower gifts were 10 quilts made by members of the El Rito Quilters’ Guild and baby clothes donated by Foundation employees.
“The idea is that, particularly in New Mexico, there are so many children born into difficult economic situations,” shower organizer Kathryn Tijerina, of the University of Phoenix, said. “They take (the shower gifts) and use that as an enticement for young mothers.”
Rio Arriba First Born Director Patricia Alvarado said mothers using the program have ranged in age from 13 to 42, and her office currently serves about 65 families.
“The first year, they reached 42 percent of eligible families,” Foundation Chief Executive Officer Susan Herrera said. “I think those stats are pretty good.”
All first-time parents in Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Los Alamos counties, regardless of income, are eligible for the free services the program offers. Those include a pre-natal curriculum and in-home visits during a child’s first three years — a period identified by child-development specialists as crucial to healthy cognitive and emotional development. Home visitors walk parents through those developmental steps, encourage vaccination and early-childhood learning, and connect families with other community resources.
Alvarado said first-time parents are sometimes wary of outside intervention, so First Born employees emphasize that they’re not there to criticize anyone’s parenting.
“One of our main objectives is to help these parents know they have somebody that’s not going to judge them,” Alvarado said. “The approach is non-threatening and it’s very confidential.”
The program originated in Silver City and spread to other New Mexico counties with early seed money from the Foundation.
The state Children, Youth and Families Department now contracts with Presbyterian Healthcare Services to provide First Born and other pre-natal and post-natal services throughout the state.
For more information on the program, Rio Arriba residents can call the First Born office in Española at 747-2050. Santa Fe County residents can call Tekla Johnson, of Santa Fe United Way, at 982-2002.
Anyone interested in donating additional shower items can drop them off at the Foundation office, located in the Industrial Park Road office park on Calle de la Merced, or call 753-8890 for more information.