New or expectant mothers in Todd County reported an increase in knowledge and skills that will help them adopt healthier lifestyles for themselves and their babies. Pre-natal care is critical to healthy births; it is associated with higher birth weights and lower infant mortality rates. Todd County ranks one of the lowest in the state for women who seek prenatal care in their first trimester, with less than 67% of all pregnant women seeking early pre-natal care. To help address this need, the Todd County Cooperative Extension Service Family and Consumer Science Agent collaborated with representatives from six other community agencies to sponsor our 22nd Community Baby Shower, an educational program to help new or expectant mothers understand the importance of pre-natal care, well-child care, and to know what community resources are available to them.  

An end of the meeting evaluation administered to the mothers and guests (completed by 48) reported what participants learned during the program: 48 (100%) increased their knowledge about proper use of car seats and car seat safety; 81% learned more about the importance early dental care. Twenty-one participants reported learning about resources in the community they did not about before such as new doctors and dentists in the town, safety in the home, and programs available to parents and children

To date, approximately 925 new mothers and their guests have been educated at the Community Baby Shower, in an effort to improve the health of Todd County’s children, families, and communities.