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Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Laredo, TX—Women’s Preventive and Early Detection Care and Family Planning is critical to support wellness, prenatal and post natal care as well good birth and well child outcomes. With over 600 adolescent (under 18) women pregnant each year, rise in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), a disparity in cervical cancer and increase in prematurity we need to assure that women have every opportunity to access care and family planning. There new services have been initiated to address women’s and well child newborn care.

 Women’s Preventive Care and Family Planning Clinic

Annual exams to assure healthy outcomes for women and future mothers are the cornerstone of this effort. In addition, Family Planning is important to assure that every woman safeguards her health and chooses when to get pregnant.  While some people choose to just let nature take its course with regard to pregnancy, some couples choose to use family planning methods to have children when they are able to or when their marriage meets certain milestones.

 Whether couples are thinking about getting pregnant for the first time or you already have children, the City of Laredo Health Department (CLHD) can help you learn about family planning so that women (couples) can make an informed decision for their reproductive choice. Knowing whether you do or do not want to have children in the next few years can help you and your partner choose appropriate contraception (birth control pills, contraceptive injections, implants or an intrauterine device). Family planning can also help you determine when you might begin preconception planning, which is sometimes recommended up to a year in advance of getting pregnant. Partners/men also play an important role and we will also be offering family planning methods to males either directly or through referral (exams, condoms, health education, and vasectomy). 

 The CLHD’s Family Planning Program provides confidential, low-cost, preventative health care to both females and males to help with their reproductive health needs to promote positive birth outcomes and healthy families.

Types of Family Planning Services Available:

·         Health check-up & physical exam, follow-up medical care and referrals;

·         Birth control education and methods (pills, IUC, condoms, injectables etc.);

·         Natural family planning;

·         Lab tests for cervical cancer (pap smears), sexually transmitted diseases (STD), HIV, diabetes, and anemia, pregnancy testing etc.;

·         Treatment for STDs & urinary infections;

·         Abstinence education and methods;

·         Pre-Conception Counseling (Planning for having a healthy pregnancy);

·         Nutritional counseling; and

·         Infertility Counseling (Help when having difficulty getting pregnant).

Family Planning services are provided to men and women of all ages. For more information about the family planning services you can visit the CLHD Family Planning clinic every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:00 – 7:00 pm or call for an appointment. For further information on Family Planning call Dr. Zaida Gonzalez, Health Educator Supervisor, at (956) 795-4918.

 Nurse Family Partnership (NFP)

The Nurse Family Partnership Program of the CLHD will provide home visitation case management to first time mothers, especially adolescent and high risk mothers.  Vulnerable young mothers (adolescent and young adults) have potentially significant higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes as well their children are at risk for low birth weight, malnourishment, poor school performance and other social developmental issues. NFP, a structured, nurse home-visiting program, can intervene early and prevent many of these problems. In this way, we can improve health and social outcomes for women and in particular young women.  NFP is a proven evidence based wellness program for low-income, first-time mothers and their children. NFP has proven to work with results showing significantly improved prenatal health, fewer subsequent pregnancies, increased maternal employment, decreased childhood injuries, neglect and abuse, and improvement in the child’s school readiness. Specifically, NFP nurses will encourage and support their NFP moms to keep pre-natal care and wellness appointments and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. NFP will also assist first time mothers with understanding childbirth, newborn care, well child, and nutrition and child development during the first two (2) years of life.

 We need your help to make this vital initiative a success in our community.  The CLHD is counting on agency, provider and the public’s support and assistance to identify and refer women to NFP.  To qualify women must be: 1) less than 28 weeks pregnant, 2) first-time mothers 3) local resident and 4) have a local physician. Although the program targets young mothers, there is no age or medical restriction.  We can also provide providers with an NFP Referral Kit to help them educate your patients about NFP, in an effort to help them achieve the best possible health outcomes for themselves and their families.  Please take full advantage of this kit and refer eligible pregnant women to the CLHD Nurse-Family Partnership.  If you have any questions, please contact Patricia Enriquez, RN, Nurse Supervisor at (956) 523-7845. 

Healthy Texas Babies/Tejanitos Saludables

Twelve (12) counties in the State of Texas, including Webb, received funding through the CLHD for the Healthy Texas Babies efforts. The project will promote women’s preventive care and newborn and well child health care. It will target teenagers, first time moms, adolescent moms and dads. The health educational classes will touch on women’s health, newborn and well baby health as well male responsibility (role to support breast feeding, child care). 

 Specifically, we will provide health education on nutrition, prenatal care, exercises for pregnant women, things to avoid while pregnant, breast feeding, fatherhood responsibility, family planning, early detection and wellness, child growth and development and teen pregnancy. Our target is to reach the entire community but specifically 100 female and 50 male adolescent and young adults. Some of the activities are: 

·         Male responsibility training and education on child birth, child development and well child as well support for women during pregnancy to prevent prematurity.

·         Will conduct Five (5) conferences to increase awareness on well baby, women’s health and male responsibility.

·         Develop poster board for the Laredo HTB program “Gateway to Women’s Health, Well Child and Fatherhood.

·         “Texas 4 babies” will be initiated in Laredo which will send text messages to all participating mothers and fathers with important health messages regarding prenatal care, baby care, health and other relevant subjects.

·         Bumper stickers are being created in English and Spanish to highlight the “Tejanitos Saludables” theme.

·         Develop a small film using prominent fathers and doctors playing with their kids and discussing the importance of parental involvement.

·         Social media outlets such as Facebook and YouTube are also being used.

 For more information on Tejanitos Saludables, call Dr. Lucia Arrellanos, Health Educator at (956) 712-6015 or Dr. Zaida Gonzalez, Health Educator Supervisor at (956) 795-4918