Mass. has a plan to help new moms and babies: free home visits for all

Massachusetts health officials are planning an ambitious effort to help new parents and babies.

Their aim is to deploy nurses to visit the homes of every baby in the state within eight weeks of birth. The program, called Welcome Family, would be optional, and available to all parents for free once the rollout is complete in late 2027.

While there are other programs in Massachusetts and other states that offer home visits during the postpartum period, they are not available to all families. State officials said this would be the first state-run program of its kind in the country, seeking to serve the families of some 68,000 babies born each year in Massachusetts.

“Ultimately, our goal would be to reach as many births as possible,” said Elaine Fitzgerald Lewis, director of family health programs at the state Department Public Health.

“The goal is really to serve as an entry point into the early childhood system of care for families with newborns,” she said.

The first weeks after a baby is born can be overwhelming. Mothers must recover from giving birth while learning how to care for a newborn — and sleep is scarce.

Many families don't have the time and resources to seek out support, Lewis said. A nurse who visits a family at home can connect them with longer-term services if needed, including help with breastfeeding and access to food.

Home visits are already underway in a handful of communities including Boston, New Bedford and Lowell.

During these visits, a nurse checks on the mother and baby’s health, and shares advice about how to feed and care for a newborn. The nurse also asks the mother about her mood and mental health.

Jessie Colbert, coordinator of the Massachusetts Mind the Gap Coalition, which advocates for the mental health of pregnant and postpartum mothers, said home visits could make a big difference in identifying anxiety and depression in new mothers.

“I think it's really important to connect with the parent when they're at home,” she said. “New moms, new parents are very hesitant to disclose if they're experiencing some of these thoughts and feelings. They might think it's their fault. They might think that their child will be taken away. There's a lot of stigma and misunderstanding around it.”

Patients might be more likely to open up during a mental health screening at home, compared with a medical visit in a clinic, Colbert said.

Gov. Maura Healey’s state budget proposal includes money for the Department of Public Health to expand the program statewide. But the costs of the home visits themselves ultimately would be shared by insurers, state officials said.

The decision to expand home visits for new mothers came from state legislators. It was part of a 2024 maternal health law that also included provisions to increase access to midwives, doulas and other services.

Dr. Sara Shields, a family physician in Worcester whose patients include mothers and babies, said home visits also can help new moms with breastfeeding challenges and basic newborn care.

Shields said it’s important to offer the visits to all new moms — not just those who meet certain criteria.

“So that we're not stigmatizing anyone,” she said. “We're not saying we think you're at risk, or you're going to be a bad parent — but that it's something everybody gets.”

It’s unclear how much can be accomplished in just one home visit, compared with providing several postpartum home visits, which is common in some other countries, Shields said. “But we have to start somewhere.”