‘Baby Brain’: Montgomery foundation’s work featured in documentary

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A new documentary is out that features Montgomery’s Gift of Life Foundation and how it’s work affects the development of unborn babies.

The Yahoo! News documentary “Baby Brain” highlights the Harvard University Center for the Developing Child’s research that shows the effects of poverty and toxic stress on pregnant women and fetal brain development.

In Alabama, one in four children lives in poverty. The documentary features the Gift of Life Foundation’s nurse-family partnership, which pairs first-time moms with a registered nurse. The nurse provides support and education in the home to help moms form protective relationships with their baby and over challenges, many of which are associated with poverty.

GOL Executive Director Dr. Regina Traylor said Yahoo! News selected GOL’s NFP because of its strong record of positive outcomes from program participants.

“Neuroscience science is taking us far beyond old notions of what prenatal care should look like,” said Traylor. “We know through our work that improving health outcomes has to include an approach that seeks to help moms and children living in poverty address toxic stress.”

The film crew followed Gift of Life Nurse Home Visitor Lori Rogers for two days on home visits with two Montgomery moms who spoke candidly about their challenges and the Nurse-Family Partnership’s impact on their ability to manage those challenges.

“Being a part of this project was a great experience because it shows just how needed Gift of Life’s work is,” said Rogers. “The film shows how toxic stress is a problem that is affecting moms and babies throughout the nation. I hope it sparks meaningful conversations in our community on how we can improve prenatal care for moms living in poverty and the need to support home visiting programs like NFP.”

You can watch the documentary on YouTube now. It will also be available on Roku and Apple TV later this month.

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