NHSA's mission is to be our nation's voice in providing leadership and advocacy for health equity services and interventions that improve birth outcomes and family wellbeing.

Hi, my name is Krystal Allen, and I am apart of the Delta Health Partners program for teen moms. I’m writing to tell you about my experience with Delta Health Partners, and how it has been a blessing and an inspiration in my life.

At the age of 16, I gave birth to my first child, which was a boy and his name was Timotheus Justus Allen. He weighed 6 lbs and 5oz. at birth. He was truly a bundle of joy and the love of my life. When he was 4 months old, Timotheus left me and went to heaven. He died from the flu, and at that time I didn’t understand why he had to go and how to let go. I was young and I had never experienced anything like that before.

I was going through an emotional roller coaster in my life, nothing made sense anymore, especially the death of my beautiful baby boy.  Then I met Mrs. Janice Ford, a social worker who came by my house to talk with me about my feelings and how to start to making sense of things again. She told me about the program, Delta Health Partners and how they work with pregnant teen moms. I decided to join the program, and ever since that day she has been with me every step of the way. Because of her help and guidance, I am able today to share my story and try to help someone else. Mrs. Ford was there when I needed a shoulder to cry on, when I felt like giving up, she always encouraged me and she believes in me. She continually tells me to keep my head up, I’m going to make it. Without this program I would have given up a long time ago, and I wouldn’t be the wonderful mother that I am today. I am the proud parent of two handsome sons and three beautiful daughters. Mrs. Ford helped guide me through each pregnancy and assured me that things would be okay. She taught me what to expect with each pregnancy and how to be a better mom. I thank her and the program for all they have done for me. Whatever my family needed, they have always been right there.

In conclusion, this program has helped me out a lot. This is a wonderful program for teen moms, and I thank them so much for being there for me and my family.

Tougaloo College/Delta Health Partners’ (TC/DHP) is a federally funded Healthy Start project, and their goal is to improve prenatal health outcomes for the teens and women, and their infants, living in the Mississippi Delta. By strengthening the prenatal health delivery system and establishing a new model of integrated prenatal health care services, we can ameliorate the existing disparate outcomes associated with infant mortality, low-birth weight, and pre-term births. TC/DHP utilizes a case management team model, consisting of a registered nurse, social worker, and nutritionist.