When Twymitchellyn found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t sure how to react.
“I was scared, nervous, basically, every emotion you can feel at once, that’s how I felt,” Twymitchellyn said.
She soon visited Today’s Women where her doctor told her about a program called Nurse-Family Partnership at Forsyth County Department of Public Health in North Carolina. Nurse-Family Partnership is a free program that helps expectant moms have a healthy pregnancy, a healthy birth, and helps babies have a healthy infancy. Nurse-Family Partnership connects qualified expectant moms with a free, personal nurse who stays with them until the baby’s second birthday. The nurse helps the mom with all matters of motherhood, from how to take care of themselves through pregnancy, labor and delivery to nutrition and breastfeeding.
Learning of the program, Twymitchellyn immediately enrolled in Nurse-Family Partnership and soon began working with an Nurse-Family Partnership nurse during the early stages of her pregnancy, who helped her eat right and stay healthy. She was paired with NFP nurse Beverly who worked with her throughout her pregnancy, and continues to help her learn to care for her now 1-year-old, Diamond.
“Diamond is now 18 months, and Beverly has really been there for us,” Twymitchellyn said. “Early on, she helped me with breastfeeding and making sure Diamond was healthy and ate the right amounts of nutrients and vitamins.”
Beverly, an NFP nurse, has worked for the program for two and a half years. A native of Winston-Salem, she began her nursing career at the age of 12 by volunteering as a candy striper at Forsyth Medical Center, where she would eventually work after nursing school. Since her years as a candy striper, women and babies have been her two primary passions, which made working for Nurse-Family Partnership a great fit.
“Nurse Beverly is so supportive, and helps me set goals each month. I want to be the best mom I can be for Diamond, and with Beverly by my side, I know if I work hard enough, I can be,” said Twymitcheylln. “We really work as a team. I feel lucky and grateful that Nurse-Family Partnership came into my life at the right moment.”