When a baby’s on the way, new parents can feel a mix of emotions ranging from excitement to fear. They need to know they have a support team they can turn to for understanding, advice, and help.
Every family’s needs for support are different. They may be short on cash and need material supplies. They may lack good parenting role models and need ideas to help them parent better. Or they may—like most of us—just need someone to talk to when problems arise. There is support available. It's as close as the local pregnancy center.
Needing Support is Normal for New Parents
Whenever we try something new, it’s helpful to have someone on our side, cheering us on and offering helpful suggestions when we run out of ideas. Parenting is no different: support is vital for this venture. Parenting is a big job, after all, and no one wants to get it wrong. All parents need support of many kinds if they are to succeed.
Material Support
All it takes is a trip through the baby aisle at the local Walmart for parents to feel overwhelmed by all the stuff babies might “need.” How much of it is essential? How much would be fun to have, but isn’t required?
Faced with a growing list of “baby needs,” parents may wonder if they can possibly provide for their new child. Especially if money is tight and there isn’t a baby shower of awesome gifts on the horizon.
(Keep reading. There’s a place to get free baby and maternity supplies.)
Emotional Support
Emotions run high—and a little crazy—during pregnancy. Then the baby arrives. There’s joy, excitement, and a brisk splash of reality; add in a little lack of sleep, and those early months with a newborn can challenge everyone’s emotional health.
The good news is that having a supportive squad to listen to our fears, frustrations, and worried questions can be extremely helpful at this time. A parent’s squad needs to include both peers who get them and people who are far enough down the parenting road that they have some healthy perspectives to share. The baby’s grandparents may be good candidates. So might outside mentors.
(Keep reading: We’ve got some ideas for those mentors…)
Educational Support
Right now we’re not talking school. We’re talking about learning how to be the great parent you dream of being. Yes, you can learn to parent. (We’ll suggest how in just a minute.)
Parents-to-be may feel they don’t know enough about pregnancy, labor, and delivery. There are classes for that: sometimes your local hospital offers them, and others may, too.
What about after the baby comes? There is so much that parents want to know about:
- how to care for a newborn
- what it means when the baby cries
- when their baby should develop certain abilities
- how to take care of themselves while juggling their baby’s needs too
Just having a grasp of those things alone could help parents approach their new job with greater confidence.
So, where’s a parent to turn for support services like these?
Find Support Services at Your Local Pregnancy Center
Pregnancy centers exist to support parents during pregnancy and beyond. They understand that children are both a gift and a responsibility. So they have programs designed to meet the needs of their parenting neighbors, before, during, and after pregnancy. By collaborating with other trusted partners within their communities, pregnancy centers can provide or refer parents to the kinds of services they need.
For example, in the areas surrounding Redwood Falls and Marshall, Minnesota, Choices Pregnancy Center strives to understand, address, and provide for parents’ needs for support, whether that’s material, emotional, or educational support.
Here’s how the parent support services look at Choices Pregnancy Center.
Parents-to-be meet with a client advocate to express their needs and the ways they want to grow as parents. The advocate helps them develop a customized plan to reach their goals. This plan combines one-on-one viewing and discussion of streamed lessons on topics of interest plus mentoring and coaching to build parents’ skills and boost their confidence.
As parents work through their unique plan, they also earn vouchers for free maternity and baby supplies—either at the on-site boutique or through community partners. Choices Pregnancy Center calls this parenting support program Earn While You Learn.
Choices’ caring advocates spend time listening to parents’ concerns and helping them work out healthy and effective ways to address those concerns. Parents come away feeling educated, empowered, and equipped to meet the challenges of raising their children.
If this sounds like just what you’ve been looking for, don’t hesitate to reach out today through our chat or our contact page.
The parenting coaches at Choices Pregnancy Center look forward to supporting you on your parenting adventure!