Baby’s First Holiday

At Lynn Community Health Center, the majority of our families are low-income and many of them live under the federal poverty line. Many have yet to rebound fully from the economic devastation of COVID. At least one third struggled to put food on the table this year, many more have struggled to pay rent.

Some funds are used to purchase additional gift cards.  They are a life saver for our social workers! At LCHC when a nurse or staff person learns a pregnant or new mom has no food in the house, a social worker is contacted. The social worker then will connect our patient to the appropriate services. In the meantime, the local grocery gift card allows the patient to purchase some food supplies immediately. Another critical need are diapers! When possible, funds are used to purchase them for moms in need.

Our physicians and midwives provide state-of-the-art comprehensive care in labor and delivery rooms at Salem Hospital. Our babies are evaluated by a Lynn Community Health Center pediatrician or family physician after delivery and every day until mom and baby go home. These hospital consultations are free of charge and are the best way to make sure baby is off to a healthy start. New moms are screened and treated postpartum so they too can have the best start.

I have been working with pregnant women for 25 years. I work primarily with the Hispanic community. Most of these women come from Central America; especially to be more exact, they come from Guatemala. Telling the story of one of them does not seem fair to me, because they all have a story of suffering, poverty and resilience to tell the world.

First of all, in order for them to come in this country, they have to leave their children in care of someone in their family in order to build a better future for them. Other women decide to flee their country due to domestic violence or sexual abuse at a very young age. Everyone has to find a way to get here, they have to borrow money to pay the person who brings them here; and many times they are sexually abused on the way here.

When they arrive, they have to get a job so they can pay off their debt, send money to their children, and stay here. Despite the language barrier and all the inconveniences they encounter, they get by because they are resilient. They cry for a while, they complain for a while, but then they dry their tears and go out to find support for their families.

A few years ago I met an extraordinary woman. She came here very young, got married, had her children and decided to earn a better future for them. Although she did not know how to read or write, she decided to get her driver’s license because for her it was essential, so she would take her children to school and could go to work. She told me that she went more than 10 times to take the exam on the computer and pay each time she took it. One day she came to the office with a big smile to tell me that she finally had her driver’s license. This woman did not mind being illiterate, she decided to go after her driver’s license until she got it. Like her, there are many resilient women who come to our health center.

As I said at the beginning, it’s not fair to tell a single story, when everyone has a story to tell. A story of hard work, sacrifice and pain, but also a story of resilience and joy. LCHC is a place where we try to help all these women as best as possible. I feel very proud to be able to work in this institution. Every December we bring a little joy to these mothers and their children with my baby’s first Christmas. On behalf of all these mothers and their children, I thank you for all the help and happiness you bring tot them.

Maria Merced, OB / CM, CLC, CHW, OB Team Case Manager