Daria Murosko, MD, MPH, and Lindsay Gilmore, MD
All parents will tell you that caring for a newborn is a challenging period, requiring significant resources and social support. As a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia neonatology fellow and former fellow (now an attending), it is an essential part of our job to ensure that all families are prepared to meet these needs when they go home with their new baby. That is especially true for families whose struggles with poverty, homelessness, or other social challenges make that preparation all the more difficult.
Mothers’ Home, a residential shelter in Darby, Pennsylvania, provides housing, baby necessities, and social supports to vulnerable pregnant women and their babies, allowing them to be ready to meet their babies with excitement and love.
CHOP Neonatology has partnered with Mothers’ Home for years, teaching classes on life skills and newborn care. The 2 of us first became involved a little over a year ago when we reinvigorated our partnership after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, spurred by our desire to give back to the community we are privileged to serve. Our work is supported by CHOP’s Homeless Health Initiative, which helps to coordinate our sessions and also provides donations for the shelter.
Caring for a newborn is demanding, often isolating, and can be bewildering. We know that infant well visits are short and have a lot to cover; parents commonly feel they didn’t have all their concerns addressed during that time. During our sessions at Mothers’ Home, we get to bridge the gap: We dive into normal well baby topics and answer any questions the new moms may have.
What keeps us going back is the relationships we have built with the women and their babies. In the past year, we’ve gotten to meet eagerly awaited arrivals and watch babies grow. Our favorite part is seeing what new skills the babies have learned between visits! Every session, we are inspired by the beautiful and nurturing relationship between moms and their babies, unwavering even in the face of hardship.
Our February class focused on safety, covering feeding safety and home safety. This consisted of a discussion where we had active participation of the women, many who have experience raising older children, followed by an “I Spy” activity where we identified common household safety concerns in pictures. Previous classes have covered basic infant care, developmental milestones, sleep concerns (for babies and moms!), maternal mental health, and infant feeding. One of the residents’ favorite sessions was a hands-on skills class where they learned CPR and choking management skills, which they practiced on mannequins. We are looking forward to repeating this session in the spring.
This year, our volunteer pool has expanded from the 2 of us to neonatal fellows, advanced practice providers, and attending neonatologists. We are looking forward to sharing with these volunteers the joy that we have experienced during the past year of working with the wonderful families at Mothers’ Home.
Interested in helping with health education at Mothers’ Home? Email HHI@chop.edu.
Featured in this article
Specialties & Programs
Daria Murosko, MD, MPH, and Lindsay Gilmore, MD
All parents will tell you that caring for a newborn is a challenging period, requiring significant resources and social support. As a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia neonatology fellow and former fellow (now an attending), it is an essential part of our job to ensure that all families are prepared to meet these needs when they go home with their new baby. That is especially true for families whose struggles with poverty, homelessness, or other social challenges make that preparation all the more difficult.
Mothers’ Home, a residential shelter in Darby, Pennsylvania, provides housing, baby necessities, and social supports to vulnerable pregnant women and their babies, allowing them to be ready to meet their babies with excitement and love.
CHOP Neonatology has partnered with Mothers’ Home for years, teaching classes on life skills and newborn care. The 2 of us first became involved a little over a year ago when we reinvigorated our partnership after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, spurred by our desire to give back to the community we are privileged to serve. Our work is supported by CHOP’s Homeless Health Initiative, which helps to coordinate our sessions and also provides donations for the shelter.
Caring for a newborn is demanding, often isolating, and can be bewildering. We know that infant well visits are short and have a lot to cover; parents commonly feel they didn’t have all their concerns addressed during that time. During our sessions at Mothers’ Home, we get to bridge the gap: We dive into normal well baby topics and answer any questions the new moms may have.
What keeps us going back is the relationships we have built with the women and their babies. In the past year, we’ve gotten to meet eagerly awaited arrivals and watch babies grow. Our favorite part is seeing what new skills the babies have learned between visits! Every session, we are inspired by the beautiful and nurturing relationship between moms and their babies, unwavering even in the face of hardship.
Our February class focused on safety, covering feeding safety and home safety. This consisted of a discussion where we had active participation of the women, many who have experience raising older children, followed by an “I Spy” activity where we identified common household safety concerns in pictures. Previous classes have covered basic infant care, developmental milestones, sleep concerns (for babies and moms!), maternal mental health, and infant feeding. One of the residents’ favorite sessions was a hands-on skills class where they learned CPR and choking management skills, which they practiced on mannequins. We are looking forward to repeating this session in the spring.
This year, our volunteer pool has expanded from the 2 of us to neonatal fellows, advanced practice providers, and attending neonatologists. We are looking forward to sharing with these volunteers the joy that we have experienced during the past year of working with the wonderful families at Mothers’ Home.
Interested in helping with health education at Mothers’ Home? Email HHI@chop.edu.
Contact us
Division of Neonatology