Ask And Ye Shall Receive

I spoke to a lady from my local health department today, to see what kind of services are offered for expectant mothers. I signed up for a bunch of free classes. Infant CPR, classes about the experience of childbirth, classes about caring for a newborn, and breastfeeding classes.

The thing is, so many services are available if you just know where to look for them. A lot people don't know where to look, though. Or don't want to take the time to figure it out.

Years ago I worked at a video store. This mother and her 18 year old daughter would come in a lot. The daughter got pregnant, and after a few months the mother was visibly upset about the situation. The mother told me that she was happy about the pregnancy, but she was upset that her daughter wasn't getting prenatal care. The daughter, who had moved in with her boyfriend as soon as she got pregnant, didn't have insurance and so she simply wasn't going to a doctor. The mother said that this bothered her a lot because one of her other children had been diagnosed in utero with a heart condition and it was because she was getting good prenatal care that the baby got the medical attention it needed to survive the pregnancy. The mother understood the importance of prenatal care, and kept begging her daughter to sign up for government assistance so that she could see a doctor. The daughter ended up miscarrying before she had a chance to sign up for assistance. Help was available, but the daughter didn't want to take the time to go down to the government office and fill out some paperwork. Sad.