On a sunny morning in Norwalk, about 20 miles southwest of Cedar Point amusement park, Sara Whidden opens the front door to find a visitor. It's registered nurse Kristen Buder, carrying a scale, a blood pressure cuff, and a backpack full of info pamphlets.
Buder is part of Family Connects Ohio, a program currently offered in 11 counties in state that provides free, voluntary home visits from nurses in the first weeks after birth. Nurses check in with families to help provide resources during a critical time and catch problems early.
One in five mothers experiences postpartum depression or anxiety, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half never get treatment, often because symptoms are brushed off as “typical new parent stress” or because barriers like transportation make it hard to seek care.
Help that comes to you
Inside Whidden’s living room, Buder sets up her scale and gently scoops up two-week-old Carter, who has thick dark hair just like his mom’s. Carter is healthy and gaining weight, but Buder isn’t here only for him.
She turns to Whidden, asking how she’s been sleeping, how her recovery is going, and whether she’s noticed any emotional changes.
“It was rough for me after having Peyton,” Whidden said, referring to her first child, now 8. "It was so hard to leave the house. I had so much stress around everything."
This time, Whidden said, she hasn’t felt the same level of anxiety. Still, Buder reminds her that postpartum depression or anxiety can appear anytime within a year of birth.
"When those intrusive thoughts are hindering your everyday life, so you don't want to go for a walk, you don't feel like taking a shower or putting on makeup, things that you normally find joy in ... that is when either the anxiety or the depression is becoming a problem and when we want you to reach out," she said.
Buder checks Whidden’s blood pressure, assesses the family’s safe sleep setup, and makes sure both mom and baby have medical providers. She said these visits often reveal more than a quick, clinical office appointment can.
“When you go to that appointment and they do that postpartum depression scale, it is very clinical and they are clicking through the computer at the time so there's no ... picking up on those non-verbal cues," Buder explains.
The need in Ohio is urgent. Maternal and infant mortality rates in the state are both more than 30% higher than the country's average. Nationally, 56% percent of new moms skip their postpartum follow-up visits, according to recent analysis from health data company, Cedar Gate.
More than just one visit
At the end of each appointment, families get a customized list of resources — from diaper banks to mom support groups to mental health counseling. Similar programs in other states have been linked to fewer ER visits and better maternal mental health. When dads participate, they report feeling less overwhelmed too.
Still, experts say the help can’t end there.
"I think this program is wonderful, and I think we have long way to go in supporting young families," said Dr. Tamar Gur, a women’s health researcher at Ohio State University. "We know that successfully launching a baby takes a lot of time and energy, and so if parents were able to take paid parental leave, that would go very long way to reducing their stress burden."
The program is currently active in 11 counties, including Mahoning, Trumbull, Erie and Huron counties in Northeast Ohio. There are plans to eventually expand it statewide.
