Meducat

When Karen Storek was expecting her first child, she searched hungrily for any morsel of parenting information.

“I spent an enormous amount of time reading every book I could find, preparing myself for becoming a new mom,” the Tucson woman said of her pregnancy 21 years ago. “But I found the information to be very hit and miss.”

She spent hours at the library and bookstores, poring over parenting manuals. She was frustrated that there was not one reliable, free source for information. When son Sean was an infant, she spotted a brochure on poisonous plants at her pediatrician’s office. Storek realized that, especially for new parents, information could mean the difference between life and death.
“I decided to create a nonprofit organization that would gather all this information in the same place,” she said.

Storek created New Parents Network in 1988, with the goal of providing lifesaving information to parents at no charge. She runs the organization from her Tucson home. Information – frequently focusing on product recalls, poisonous plants, child-care resources, nutrition, immunization schedules and abuse prevention – was distributed through packets given to parents by Tucson hospitals.

In 1994, software was created for interactive kiosks that were placed in the waiting rooms at Tucson clinics that serve low-income families. In 2000, New Parents Network launched a multilingual Web site, which receives about 250,000 visits from around the world each month.
“It used to be that mothers talked over the fence and got information from each other, but that doesn’t happen in this scattered world,” Storek said.

Today, Storek – mother of Sean, 21, and Tyler, 17 – e-mails free weekly tips. Here’s a recent one – most pregnant women know to avoid herbal remedies. “But even drinking peppermint tea can put a woman at risk for inducing labor,” she said.

The information is so critical University Medical Center provides tips from the network and information about the Web site to all moms who deliver there, said Adaline Klemmedson, vice president for administration and corporate relations at UMC. The hospital is one of the program’s major sponsors.

“New moms, and especially younger moms, can be very overwhelmed, and they don’t always know what to do,” Klemmedson said. “Karen has a wealth of information for new parents.”
Tucson pediatrician Dr. John Bean frequently refers families to the Web site, calling it “a place where any parent can go to find a wealth of information regarding parenting children.”
He said information is key in successful parenting. “The more properly informed the parent is, the better equipped they are to respond to the needs of their children.”

New Parent Network is supported by businesses, foundations and private donations. Storek is the only paid employee. She hopes to add paid staff, expanding her reach.
Her best advice for new parents? “Don’t be afraid. Becoming a parent can be a very fearful thing. But there is so much information out there.” It’s all part of her mission to support families.
“Imagine the change that could take place with this generation being loved and supported,” she said.

[via Tuscon Citizen]