Project NEST, Promoting Education

Project NEST is a prenatal education program operated by Junior Board of Rock Island and the Rock Island County Health Department and cooperating community agencies. The program provides incentives and encouragement for women to keep prenatal care appointments, a critical factor for helping babies get a healthy start in life. The program has three major objectives:

Volunteer for Project NEST Now!

• Provides prenatal education and incentives to low income pregnant women.
• Motivates women to get early, regular prenatal care through earned incentives.
• Educates women on self-care during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.

Junior Board of Rock Island provides volunteers to operate each Project NEST and conducts the educational classes with the assistance of local trained professionals. The local health care agency is responsible for client referral and tracking.

There are two components of Project NEST’s program-the incentive component and the educational component. Both components must be implemented for the program to be effective.

1. Incentive items are given to pregnant moms to encourage them to make and keep prenatal care appointments.
2. Educational classes teach pregnant moms how to care for themselves and their babies.

Project NEST promotes beginning prenatal care early, and keeping all scheduled prenatal care appointments, attending education workshops, eating well, and getting enough exercise and rest, avoiding harmful substances or environments, watching for signs of preterm labor, breastfeeding and bringing baby to well-baby exams and completing a full set of immunizations among others.

The Project NEST program is flourishing and will continue to grow because of the passion and dedication of all the Junior Board members who volunteer throughout the year. Junior Board staffs 2 English-speaking sessions and 1 Spanish-speaking session 52 weeks a year.

The Project NEST program provides educational material and guest speakers that touch on a variety of topics such as nursing and nutritional diet alternatives, infant care, immunizing your child, and providing a safe environment. Through this educational process and hands on approach, a mother can earn points and then convert those points into merchandise for her baby such as diapers, car seats, and strollers. This past year Junior Board conducted a CPR Seminar at the Health Department for all Project NEST participants, their families and friends. Junior Board was successful in helping certify 12 people in infant/child CPR. Also, on August 31, 2006, Project NEST and the Rock Island Health Department hosted a Child Birth Seminar to help educate expectant mothers. The seminar was given by Linda Inch, a Birth Doula specialist.

Each year our Project NEST Chairmen become even more passionate about this endeavor and do an outstanding job of monitoring and improving this program. Already this year we have conducted a garage sale for Project NEST mothers-to-be that included inexpensive items donated by members including toys, maternity clothes and books. This event was well received and Junior Board will be offering it once again in the spring. The Project NEST program has touched many women and infants in our community in a very positive way. Junior Board looks forward to continuing this program for many years to come.

Another successful new program is the Car Seat Safety Program. For the first time, Project NEST offered a class to expectant mothers and were able to not only educate participants of the importance of car seats, but demonstrate how to use car seats safely. Each mother was given a new car seat to take home!