Laura and Kaitlyn

After enduring the emotional agony of two miscarriages, Laura cried tears of sorrow when she found out she was pregnant again. She was terrified – terrified she’d miscarry, terrified she’d somehow hurt her unborn baby. And more than that, as a recovering drug addict, she was terrified that the stress of her pregnancy would tempt her to use again.

But then she learned about Healthy Start, a program provided by CHS to educate, counsel and help women throughout their pregnancy and first few years of motherhood. Through her involvement, Laura learned how to manage her stress, focus on her health and discover new outlets for releasing anxiety.

“If I wasn’t in Healthy Start, I don’t know what my stress could’ve caused,” Laura admits. “It taught me that it’s not about me anymore; it’s about the baby. She’s the number one in my life and always will be.”

With baby Kaitlyn now the center of her world, Laura’s determined to give her the best life possible. And thanks to her Healthy Start counselor, Laura’s discovered a myriad of resources including special programs, books and DVDs that prepared her for what to expect after bringing her baby home. She even found an online support group for women who were pregnant while recovering from drug addictions.

Throughout her pregnancy, Laura knew she could count on her Healthy Start counselor for support, education and resources. Whenever she had questions, her counselor always found the answers.

But perhaps most important to Laura is how much her counselor truly cares; vivid recollections of past conversations with her counselor and her sincere concern for Laura and Kaitlyn remain immeasurable.

“CHS was such a big help to me … and it’s a big help to the community,” Laura says. “It really changed my life. I’m happy. I have my child, she’s beautiful and she loves me. Everything is about her.”