“Baby Brain” reveals breakthrough new scientific research that suggests that poor, pregnant mothers exposed to the “toxic stress” of poverty could handicap their children from the start -- subjecting them to biological effects beginning in the womb that could last a lifetime. The science also suggests poverty may be seen as inherited, not unlike a hereditary disease. But this new information also offers an opportunity for radical prenatal interventions that could change the trajectory of the lives of children born into poverty.
Yahoo News set out with the objective to produce a documentary that would reveal this groundbreaking new science - and its massive potential to disrupt the current welfare system and change the lives of millions of poor Americans - while also focusing on the very human narrative around this science - specifically speaking with some of the most vulnerable people in America: poor, single mothers. The challenge was to relay complicated science in simple terms and profile real people to highlight the science. New science is important, but even more important are the real people that science impacts. The documentary took a year and a half to produce, mainly because the producers wanted to get the science right and still weave compelling stories throughout.
Journalist Stephanie Sy, 6 months pregnant, travels around the country speaking with these moms as well as scientists, social workers and neurologists to learn how this new science is creating a whole new field of study - and potentially a whole new system of prenatal care and intervention for poverty - beginning in the womb. It’s a story of resilience, hope and fundamentally, of love.
We travel first to Wheeling, West Virginia. For all intents and purposes, Wheeling is one of the better-off cities in West Virginia. It also has the most food pantries, soup kitchens and programs for the poor. As a result, the poor flock to Wheeling from more destitute parts of the state. Amy Jo Hutchinson shows us around her town. Poor most of her life, Amy Jo has dedicated herself to organizing and lobbying for poor women everywhere. We meet pregnant mothers struggling to simply survive and come to understand intimately the stresses of poverty unique to these women. We meet Lisa, an 18-year-old who is 6 months pregnant. Kicked out of her house at 17 and put into the foster system, Lisa met a man at a halfway house and got pregnant. He quickly left her and she found herself homeless and jobless. She now sleeps on her grandmother’s couch and has little hope for her future. We also meet Jenny, a former heroin addict who got clean when her first son, Carter, was born. From the looks of it, Jenny has it all: she’s renting a home with a big backyard, has a full time job that pays above minimum wage, and she’s 5 months pregnant with a daughter. But she is uninsured and constantly worried about how she will pay her bills. And we meet Kristen, mother of three, recovering addict in an abusive relationship who gave birth to her last child in jail, shackled to a bed and alone.
At Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, we speak with leading academic Dr. Jack Shonkoff about the extraordinary new research on poverty in utero, and fresh insight into how genes and environment interact that sheds light on the biology of what’s happening to the babies of these mothers we’ve met in West Virginia. The research has huge implications for how we think about poverty. It challenges the societal assumptions that “if they just work hard enough” or “pull themselves up by the bootstraps,” poor people can escape poverty. There’s increasing evidence that children exposed to the stresses of poverty are handicapped from the start--subject to biological effects that can last a lifetime. It also suggests poverty may be seen as inherited, not unlike a hereditary disease.
One way shown to counteract the incredible stress these mothers face is for personalized, weekly coaching from a qualified, caring nurse. Enter the Nurse-Family Partnership, a 30-year-old organization in 41 states that aims to address the medical, emotional and financial needs of first-time mothers from pregnancy to the first two years of their babies’ lives. We visit Alabama, a state with the second highest infant mortality rate in the country, to look at the program in action. We meet Lori Rogers, a scrappy, nurturing “mama bear” nurse with the Nurse Family Partnership, and shadow her for the day as she makes her home visits to coach low-income mothers in some of Montgomery’s poorest neighborhoods. The nurses use data and science about how brains are remapped in order to coach these women. The program coaches these women for three years, encouraging them to set goals and then providing them with the guidance to try and reach them. We meet Latreta Turner, a young homeless mom with a young daughter who makes $3.13 and has lost two other babies at 26 weeks. We also meet Breanna Watkins, who was a junior in high school when she discovered she was pregnant. Now with a two-month-old, Breanna has just secured a second job, signed a lease on an apartment and feels like things are starting to shift for her.
With a new focus on prenatal care that includes reducing stress for the pregnant mothers and goal-based coaching, the evidence indicates it’s possible to reduce use of food stamps, use of medicaid, premature deliveries, less hospitalizations -- and the benefits last a lifetime including reduced incarceration, chronic unemployment and more.
Yahoo News set out with the objective to produce a documentary that would reveal this groundbreaking new science - and its massive potential to disrupt the current welfare system and change the lives of millions of poor Americans - while also focusing on the very human narrative around this science - specifically speaking with some of the most vulnerable people in America: poor, single mothers. The challenge was to relay complicated science in simple terms and profile real people to highlight the science. New science is important, but even more important are the real people that science impacts. The documentary took a year and a half to produce, mainly because the producers wanted to get the science right and still weave compelling stories throughout.
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