EXPECTANT MOMS READ TO THE BELLY

Norwalk Community Health Center (NCHC) and Read to Grow Inc. (RTG) launched their new Read to the Belly partnership, March 27 at Norwalk Community Health Center. OB patients, health center and Read to Grow associates joined with community and civic leaders gathered to welcome the program to Norwalk. The program provides books for the health center’s prenatal patients promoting early childhood brain development, literacy and bonding. NCHC is a nationally recognized nonprofit health and wellness provider serving all men, women and children in greater Norwalk and beyond, who need its services, regardless of status or ability to pay. RTG is a statewide early literacy nonprofit providing more than 120,000 books to Connecticut children and families each year.

Norwalk Mayor Rilling, State Senator Bob Duff, State Representative Dominique Johnson and Norwalk City Council President Darlene Young spoke to the importance of having Read to the Belly in Norwalk.

Norwalk Community Health Center CEO Waller, Chief Medical Officer and OB/GYN Djana Harp, M.D., and Director of Nursing Ernesta Gadalla and Read to Grow Executive Director Suzannah Holsenbeck talked about how the partnership will benefit patients.

Studies show that when women read to their belly during pregnancy, it stimulates neuron connections that promote early childhood brain development. Reading aloud has also been shown to reduce stress, benefiting maternal health as well.

“It is Norwalk Community Health Center’s mission to ensure we go beyond delivering primary medical care, when addressing the needs of our community and patients,” said Waller. “Building literacy from birth is a critical feature in early childhood development. We are excited to be in partnership with Read to Grow.”

“Read to Grow is thrilled to partner with Norwalk Community Health Center to get more high-quality children’s books into the hands of expecting families,” said Suzannah Holsenbeck, executive director of Read to Grow. “We know that when families are empowered with knowledge about the importance of reading early and often and when we remove the barriers to access to high-quality books, families are more likely to build strong routines of reading, singing and talking with their babies.”

Norwalk Community Health Center provides services to more than 12,000 patients. An independent nonprofit health-care provider, it launched in 1999 and remains a safety net for 15% of greater Norwalk men, women and children who are uninsured, underinsured or otherwise unable to find health care within reach.

Now in its 24th year, Read to Grow is a Connecticut-based early literacy nonprofit that operates statewide, providing more than 120,000 books a year to children and families through its Books for Babies, Books for Kids, and Bookmobile programs.