In this episode of The Birth Village Podcast, Morgan and Trisha sit down with nurses Melissa Webb and Laura Tritle to talk about Nurse-Family Partnership, a free, evidence-based nurse home-visiting program for first-time moms in Washington and Iron Counties. The conversation dives into how long-term, relationship-based support from pregnancy through age two can change the trajectory of a family’s life—emotionally, medically, and even financially—by giving parents education, resources, and a trusted person to call.
You’ll hear how Melissa and Laura bring decades of experience in labor and delivery, pediatrics, NICU, ER, and childbirth education into cozy, real-life visits that happen where parents feel most comfortable—often right in their own homes. They share what makes this program so unique: it’s client-led, nonjudgmental, and deeply focused on helping parents find their voice, advocate for themselves, and feel confident in caring for their babies and themselves.
We dive into:
Who Melissa and Laura are, their backgrounds in nursing and birth work, and why they’re so passionate about walking with families long-term.
What Nurse-Family Partnership actually is, how it works nationally, and how the new Southern Utah pilot is set up for first-time moms in Washington and Iron Counties.
What visits look like in real life: how often nurses come during pregnancy and postpartum, where you can meet, and how flexible and individualized the schedule really is.
How the program supports all birth choices and provider types—hospital, out-of-hospital, OBs, midwives, doulas—by helping parents prepare for appointments, ask questions, and advocate for the kind of care and birth they want.
How nurses gently bring up things like safe sleep, food security, mental health, or developmental concerns without judgment, and how they connect families to other community resources when needed.
Why those first six weeks postpartum are such a focus, and how regular check-ins can make a huge difference for maternal mental health, feeding, sleep, and overall adjustment.
How Nurse-Family Partnership fits within Prevent Child Abuse Utah’s broader home-visiting programs (like Parents as Teachers, SafeCare, and STEP), including support for families with children up to age nine.
What it looks like to teach parents to do developmental screenings and use simple, everyday activities to support their baby’s growth and milestones.
The long-term research behind Nurse-Family Partnership showing better school readiness, more stability, and improved outcomes for both moms and kids years down the road.
The importance of real, in-person connection and community for new parents—and how programs like this, along with The Birth Village, help rebuild that “village” so families don’t feel alone.
If you are interested in this program, here is the contact information for Melissa and Laura as well as a link to the facebook page they mentioned!
Laura Tritle:
EMAIL: ltritle@pcautah.org
PHONE: 435-301-2943
Melissa Webb:
EMAIL: mwebb@pcautah.org
PHONE: 435-383-1464
FACEBOOK: Prevent Child Abuse Utah - Southern Utah
This episode is an invitation to share this resource with the new parents in your life—because sometimes the most loving thing you can do is say, “Hey, I heard about this program, and I think it could be really good for you.”
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https://thebirthvillage.org/
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Special thanks to Jives for our music and Hailey Gafa Art for our beautiful album cover.
51 min