Nurses for Newborns
Building a healthy start for every baby and family.
When the Downey family welcomed three newborn foster babies into their home, they turned to Nurses for Newborns for guidance and support during this transition. Their experience reflects the essential role the organization plays for families across Middle Tennessee—providing expert nursing care, education, and reassurance to those facing the greatest challenges at the very start of life.
Nurses for Newborns has been working to reduce infant mortality in Middle Tennessee since 2001. Since then, we have completed more than 81,000 in-home visits for the benefit of more than 11,000 families in TN.
We are a free, prevention-based home visitation program that uses registered nurses to support families most at-risk for infant and maternal mortality, child abuse, and neglect.
NFN exists to support the most vulnerable in our communities, including medically fragile babies (infants born premature, drug-exposed, or experiencing failure to thrive); mothers with medical, mental health, or substance use concerns; and teenage parents.
Our goal is to ensure families of all babies in Middle Tennessee receive the healthcare, education, and support they need to thrive.
Here are a few stats to frame the state of maternal and infant health in TN:
- Infant mortality stands as the predominant cause of child deaths in TN, constituting 53.9% of all child fatalities (TN Dept. of Health's 2024 Child Fatality Annual Report). This alarming statistic is 17.9% higher than the national rate—positioning TN as one of the 11th highest states for infant mortality in the nation. Sleep-related deaths account for almost 1 in 4 of all infant deaths.
- TN is now the highest state for maternal mortality in the nation. In TN, 28% of deaths were attributed to mental health conditions, making it the leading cause of pregnancy-related mortality. Of those deaths, 70% were attributed to substance use disorder due to mental health conditions, and 18% were attributed to depressive disorder (TN Dept. of Health 2024 Maternal Mortality Report).
Visit the organization's website for further information about their services, and how you can get involved today: www.nursesfornewborns.org/tennessee