Testimonials

The Illinois Family Connects program is new to our state, but it’s based on the very successful Family Connects model from North Carolina (which has also been replicated in Maryland, Iowa, Oregon, and Minnesota).

These testimonials are from actual participants in the Durham Connects and Family Connects programs:

  • Being a first-time mother can be very scary, with lots of ‘firsts’ questions and concerns. The care from my nurse was very professional, personal, and eased all my worries throughout the first few weeks at home. She was able to answer many questions, screen my newborn’s health and made the whole learning process easier. I would recommend your services to anyone expecting!
  • The nurse gave me a lot of information that helped me, like about where the baby should sleep and knowing how to check his temperature.
  • I knew that someone was there for me—if I needed something I had someone on my side, someone to call.
  • This is my second child, and he was born 5 weeks early, so it was comforting to have the nurse come into our home and check up on us. However, it is not just the baby’s welfare they are concerned about—they really reach out to the mom and ask questions, to make sure that she is feeling well and is able to take care of herself, or get help from others, in those early weeks and months.
  • She helped me when I was depressed. During the visit she talked about different things that were really helpful. The visit really was a 10 out of 10.
  • Two years ago, I had a very difficult birth and a nearly-ten-pound baby. I thought I was prepared for coming home but immediately felt anxious and clueless about many things. I loved that [the nurse] came to me, because leaving the house with a newborn was very overwhelming those first few weeks. She made me feel like I was not alone and I also really appreciated knowing that I could call her back with any questions (and I did). Even though I have lots of local social support, this service was crucial to me.
  • It was a very nice visit; I didn’t know that I was going to receive a visit like this right in the home—you know, it’s a comfortable environment. You ask questions that you want to. Then the nurse even called me a month or so after the visit just to ask me how I was doing.
  • I liked that it was convenient and that she brought her scale with her, that we didn’t have to leave home each time to get the baby’s weight. And I liked that the nurse brought with her this great bag with resources, pamphlets—I remember looking through all of it and thinking it was great information to have. I think this is a great program and hope to have another visit with my next baby!