Teen Moms Given Christmas Party

A group of sixth-graders from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Santa Clarita celebrated an early Christmas on Monday with about 30 first-time mothers--most of them disadvantaged teenagers--and their babies.

“This is so much fun, I’ve never seen so many babies in one place,” said 11-year-old Andrew DeGiorgio, one of the sixth-graders.

The teen mothers participate in the Los Angeles County-run Home Visitation Program, which aims to help first-time pregnant teenagers have healthy babies and develop skills to keep their families thriving.

Nurses visit the new mothers regularly, before and after they give birth, to help the girls cope with their new role and make sure they learn how to properly care for their babies.

The program was launched earlier this year, and its directors decided to throw a Christmas party.

After a brief singing performance at the Pacoima Senior Center, the sixth-graders distributed hand-decorated gifts to the mothers and their babies, who ranged from newborns to 1-year-olds.

There were also pictures with Santa Claus, pizza and cake.

Many infants cried, others giggled and some crawled all over the large banquet hall.

“This is the only Christmas a lot of them will have,” said Diana Vasquez, Home Visitation Program director.