Long Island

LIWORKINGMOM

Lisa L. Colangelo

Pediatricians are playing an ever expanding — and challenging — role in the health of children and families. They are often the front-line workers in the nation’s mental health crisis among children and teens. At the same time, pediatricians have continued to face skepticism among some parents for many routine childhood vaccines they have been administering for decades. 
Dr. Annemarie Stroustrup, a pediatrician with a clinical and biotechnology background, has been tapped to head Northwell Health’s pediatrics services, headquartered at <a href="https://childrenshospital.northwell.edu/">Cohen Children’s Medical Center</a> in New Hyde Park. She and her husband, who grew up in East Northport, have four children between the ages of 12 and 20. 
Newsday spoke with Stroustrup about the importance of communication between pediatricians and their patients, earning the trust of parents, and why she’s worried about chemicals in the plastics used in some medical devices. 
<h2>What do you think sparked your interest in medicine and, specifically, pediatrics?</h2> 
I was always interested in science ... and I went to college planning on doing molecular biology. After graduation, I took a job working at a biotech startup because I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to graduate school or medical school. At the same time, I volunteered at County General in San Francisco, which at the time was a very under-resourced city hospital. I worked the night shift in the emergency department and I loved every minute of it ... it really gave me a taste of what clinical medicine was like. 
<h2>What are some of the biggest issues facing pediatricians?</h2> 
One of the real challenges for pediatrics, particularly over the last five years since COVID, has just been trust. There’s lots of information that families get from lots of different sources ... the challenge is that there is so much good information and so much terrible information out there, and it's mixed together in a way that it's really hard to tell what's what. We need to figure out how to make that connection with families over that shared desire for great health for children ... I have had conversations with parents where they’ve said, "I read this on the internet, so how can you tell me that’s not what’s going on?" ... We're trying to increase ways of communication and the locality of the pediatricians close to where families are. I think those things are really important. 
<h2>Some parents continue to question the safety of some childhood vaccines — such as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. How do you speak with them about this issue?</h2> 
There is evidence that has shown that most vaccines are very necessary to protect both the health of an individual child but also the health of the community. ... The vaccines that we have developed in the United States have decreased the child mortality rate by orders of magnitude since they were developed. Engaging in conversation is really the best way to learn and having faith that your pediatrician actually does want the best thing for your child. I think that, you know, there's so much rhetoric these days in lots of different venues that I think we all forget we are actually all on the same side here. 
<h2>What is being done to address the mental health crisis among children and teens?</h2> 
The COVID effects on child mental health are real. It really was a devastating time for our children, even those who weren't sick and whose families weren't directly affected by the illness ... It’s not something that many of us were trained to do ... we are thinking about better ways to treat and support children and, and teens as they grow. We’re growing our behavioral health footprint with a new <a href="https://www.newsday.com/news/health/mental-health-expand-teens-okujp6hs" target="_blank">100-bed facility</a> for child and adolescent mental health. We have expanded inpatient and <a href="https://www.newsday.com/news/health/mental-health-children-adolescents-w0iphpfu" target="_blank">ambulatory</a> space. That investment is real and it’s necessary. 
<h2>Can you explain the research you have done on the impact of phthalates (chemicals) in plastics and the impact on babies in neonatal intensive care units?</h2> 
The way we care for babies in the neonatal ICU involves a ton of plastics. There’s phthalates in our medical equipment. If you could reduce those levels of exposure, maybe we could reduce some of the disease burden in the preterm population because that's actually totally under our control ... We’ve identified links between <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37517179/" target="_blank">phthalate exposure</a> and lung disease, neurodevelopment and growth because they interact with the endocrine system in the body so they have all of these different impacts. But some are pretty safe ... The ultimate goal is to be able to tell manufacturers, "Please use these phthalates and not those." We haven't quite gotten there yet but we are getting closer every day.

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Northwell Health's new top pediatrician on keeping kids, and families healthy

Q&A with Northwell's new top pediatrician on good family health

AIAudio - Northwell Health's new top pediatrician on keeping kids, and families healthy


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David Olson

Faith Grullon's anxiety was so bad during much of her senior year at Oceanside High School, she had a hard time sitting still in class. 
"You feel your heart rate dramatically increase. You start to get sweaty and panicky, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it," she said. 
Grullon, 20, overcame the worst of her anxiety.&nbsp;But what Long Island families&nbsp;have talked about with each other, and pediatricians have seen in their practices,&nbsp;is now backed by <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2836060?guestAccessKey=3a37e5b1-731a-44f5-b0b9-f553484974b7&amp;utm_source=for_the_media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=070725">a peer-reviewed study</a>: American children’s mental and physical health has been in a yearslong decline. In some cases, as with anxiety, millions more kids are impacted than just a few years ago. 
Long Island pediatricians said they have seen more of their patients having a harder time coping with day-to-day life, and dealing with physical ailments and limitations. 
The question now is why, as researchers seek to find ways to stop the decline and reverse the trends. 
The study, published July 7 in the journal JAMA, concludes that "U.S. children’s health has deteriorated across a broad spectrum of indicators, highlighting the need to identify the root causes of this fundamental decline in the nation’s health." <a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Faith Grullon, now 20 and studying at the University of South Carolina, overcame the worst of her anxiety that made it difficult to sit still most of her senior year in high school." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ae8153f9-be7f-41bd-b266-80bc5d895f31" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ae8153f9-be7f-41bd-b266-80bc5d895f31', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ae8153f9-be7f-41bd-b266-80bc5d895f31"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ae8153f9-be7f-41bd-b266-80bc5d895f31/LIKIDHEALTH22221.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3">Faith Grullon, now 20 and studying at the University of South Carolina, overcame the worst of her anxiety that made it difficult to sit still most of her senior year in high school.</a> 
Researchers, looking primarily at health statistics from 2007 to 2023, found increases&nbsp;in a number of physical, developmental and mental health conditions, including obesity, anxiety, depression, developmental delay, behavioral problems, speech and language problems, autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Children have poorer sleep and feel lonelier compared with the past, and they are more likely to die than kids in other high-income countries. 
Dr. Sara Siddiqui, a pediatrician at NYU Langone Huntington Medical Group, said she was&nbsp;alarmed by the trend, but because she has seen the change in her patients, she was not surprised by the study's findings. 
"All pediatricians know this information already," she said. 
She said she hoped the study leads to more resources and research. 
The biggest increase in a chronic mental or physical health condition between 2011 and 2023 was for anxiety, researchers found when they looked at results of parent responses to the National Survey of Children’s Health. 
The increase&nbsp;began before COVID-19 and <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8922203/ ">continued during the pandemic</a>, studies show. Anxiety rates were highest among adolescents: The percentage of those age 12 to 17 with diagnosed anxiety rose 63% between 2017 and 2023, from 9.9% in 2017 to 16.1%, with rates highest among girls, <a href="https://mchb.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/mchb/data-research/nsch-data-brief-adolescent-mental-behavioral-health-2023.pdf">according to a federal analysis</a>&nbsp;of health survey results. <a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/0077e414-74eb-41d0-9a30-6eaa270a664e" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/0077e414-74eb-41d0-9a30-6eaa270a664e', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/0077e414-74eb-41d0-9a30-6eaa270a664e">STORYWIDGET: LIKIDHEALTH-depressionanxiety</a> 
Grullon said her&nbsp;pediatrician, Dr. Suanne Kowal-Connelly, director of pediatrics of the nonprofit Harmony Healthcare Long Island, recommended anti-anxiety medication. 
"I can’t even explain to you how much that medication changed my life," said Grullon, now an honor roll criminal justice student at the University of South Carolina. 
<h2>Possible causes: Screen time, substance abuse, chemicals</h2> 
Many researchers and doctors blame the skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression — the depression rate among adolescents rose 50% between 2017 and 2023, to 8.4% — in part on increased screen time and social media use, although Grullon said she doesn’t believe that was a factor for her. She doesn’t know what triggered her anxiety. 
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy <a href="https://www.newsday.com/news/health/social-media-profound-risk-surgeon-general-idchycxp">said in a 2023 advisory</a> that excessive time on social media creates "a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents," although an <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/health-advisory-adolescent-social-media-use ">American Psychological Association&nbsp;advisory</a>&nbsp;on potential harms of social media&nbsp;said it can be beneficial for some kids, depending on how it’s used. 
Dr. Saurabh Gupta, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Stony Brook Medicine, said research has shown strong links between too much screen time, especially while alone, and anxiety and&nbsp;depression, as well as poorer social skills and lower-quality relationships. 
The new study found an American child or adolescent was 80% more likely to die than counterparts in 18 other high-income countries, with especially large differences in death rates from substance use, firearms and vehicle crashes. 
There’s a relationship between the inferior health outcomes for U.S. adults — life expectancy in the United States is <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-life-expectancy-compare-countries/">years lower</a> than in other wealthy nations — and health problems in children, said Jason Niu, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University at Buffalo. 
A study <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2833715 ">published in May</a> that Niu co-authored found children born to mothers with health problems during pregnancy were more likely to have high blood pressure as they grew up. 
"If the mother has poor health, the baby will have poor health too," he said. 
Less regulation in the United States of chemicals in food and water compared with many other countries likely is another factor in health issues in kids, he said. 
Siddiqui said the food U.S. kids eat is often unhealthy, in part because fresh fruits and vegetables typically are more expensive than highly processed foods. Lower family incomes also often mean less access to health care, after-school sports programs and parks where kids can exercise, she said. Obesity rates are <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11985678/#CR9">higher in low-income children</a> than in higher-income kids, research shows. 
In the United States, more than 21% of people ages 2 to 19 had obesity in 2021-23, compared with fewer than 14% in 1999-2000 and 5% in 1971-74, according to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/overweight-obesity-child-H.pdf ">federal data</a>. <a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/78a36354-7ab4-4f6e-bf37-28c4d355d6ea" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/78a36354-7ab4-4f6e-bf37-28c4d355d6ea', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/78a36354-7ab4-4f6e-bf37-28c4d355d6ea">STORYWIDGET: LIKIDHEALTH_obesity</a> 
Dianadys Batista said her son, Angel, 12, began having weight problems when he began remote learning during the start of the pandemic. 
"There wasn’t a lot of movement, not much activity going on," compared with before the pandemic, when he played football, she said. 
Two years ago, Angel's doctor,&nbsp;Kowal-Connelly, said she put him on a weight-management program and he no longer is obese. 
Batista, 50, of North Baldwin, said Angel "has been more active," riding his bike, playing basketball and walking. She also more carefully controls what he eats. 
<h2>Better diagnosis for some conditions</h2> 
The study noted how the rate of autism spectrum disorder has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Prevalence increased from <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17287714/ ">1 in 150 8-year-olds</a>&nbsp;in 2000 to 1 in 32 8-year-olds <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm ">in 2022</a>, according to findings of a long-term federal autism surveillance project. But unlike conditions like obesity, that's&nbsp;because children with autism are more likely to be diagnosed, experts said. 
Increased awareness and understanding&nbsp;among medical professionals and parents of disorders such as autism, and of children’s mental health needs, is cause for optimism, because it means more kids are obtaining services that improve their lives, doctors say. <a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/9ea4a12c-28be-4758-899f-ef3bb917921e" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/9ea4a12c-28be-4758-899f-ef3bb917921e', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/9ea4a12c-28be-4758-899f-ef3bb917921e">STORYWIDGET: LIKIDHEALTH_autism</a> 
Kowal-Connelly said two or three decades ago, many pediatricians did not screen for autism and believed symptoms reflected behavioral issues kids might grow out of.&nbsp;The American Academy of Pediatrics did not begin&nbsp;recommending screening for autism and other developmental disabilities until&nbsp;2006. 
Rosa Calderon, of Freeport, recalled how she realized&nbsp;when her son Angel, now 23,&nbsp;was 6 months old that he was developing differently than her two daughters had. 
“I told the pediatrician, ‘Angel is very distracted, he doesn’t look at me, he doesn’t pay attention to me,’ " Calderon&nbsp;recalled in Spanish. "She told me not to worry." 
At subsequent exams, she expressed more concern, that "he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t rest. He doesn’t sleep." But the doctor kept insisting&nbsp;Angel was fine, Calderon,&nbsp;66, said. 
"She wasn’t taking into account what I was saying," she said. 
The pediatrician finally recommended an evaluation, and at 2½ years old, he was diagnosed with autism. Calderon said her son is moderately autistic and is in programs she hopes will allow him to one day work. 
Kowal-Connelly&nbsp;said medical professionals now understand autism is on a wide spectrum, and that high-functioning, often highly intelligent children who in the past may have been disparagingly labeled "that weird kid" by classmates&nbsp;also are on the spectrum and can benefit from services. 
Autism still carries a stigma, but parents increasingly realize their children would benefit from treatment, she said. 
"They're more inclined to ask for help if they think something is developmentally awry with their child and seeing the different services that might help their child," Kowal-Connelly said.

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Anxiety, obesity, sleeplessness: Why Long Island kids are having a harder time

Anxiety, obesity, sleeplessness: Why LI kids are having a harder time

AIAudio - Anxiety, obesity, sleeplessness: Why Long Island kids are having a harder time


LIKIDHEALTH250720_photos

Victor Ocasio

Few costs on Long Island are as hefty as the price of child care, with some parents paying as much as $24,000 a year to ensure their child is safe while they are at work. 
Parents on Long Island, regardless of income levels, often find covering the cost of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/child-care-challenges-lww8wbv4">child care difficult</a>, and&nbsp;few options are available to help with the costs, experts said. Even as the income thresholds that determine which families can receive financial assistance have increased, <a href="https://www.newsday.com/news/health/the-new-york-state-comptrollers-office-child-care-hx4qsl04">demand for child care</a>&nbsp;aid, particularly for children 5 and under, remains high. 
Although Island residents report higher incomes than the rest of the state and nation,&nbsp;according to <a href="https://www.newsday.com/long-island/census-poverty-rate-median-income-long-island-k4t2q9jv">U.S. Census Bureau data</a> — the median&nbsp;household income for Nassau was $143,144 in 2024, and $126,863&nbsp;in Suffolk, compared with $83,730 for nation and $85,820 statewide&nbsp;— the cost of care represents a significant financial barrier for families, experts said.&nbsp; 
"The cost of living on Long Island has just increased exponentially and child care just adds to that cost," said Vanessa Baird-Streeter, president and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island. The nonprofit connects struggling Islanders and their families to social services. 
"In certain instances, child care costs more than our state colleges," she said. "That's difficult for parents to be able to navigate without some assistance from government." 
To help parents make ends meet, the state, through federal funding, provides billions of dollars in assistance programs for families that qualify, according to the state comptroller's office. 
Here's what to know about the cost of child care and how parents can apply&nbsp;for assistance. 
<h3>How much does child care cost?</h3> 
The average price to care for an infant in a day care center is <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/child-care-challenges-lww8wbv4">$24,000 per year on Long Island</a>&nbsp;and around $20,000 for a licensed in-home provider to offer 30 hours of care or more a week, &nbsp;according &nbsp;to a 2024 market rate survey conducted by the state Office of Children and Family Services. 
"Child care costs more than a year of public college," said Jennifer Rojas, executive director of the Child Care Council of Suffolk, an advocacy group for children and families based in Commack. "With our housing costs on Long Island and everything else, it's just unsustainable." 
<h3>Why is affordable child care essential?</h3> 
"We need affordable and consistent child care," said Steven Kent, chief economist for the Long Island Association, a business&nbsp;group. "It's a very important part of creating a viable and vital workforce." 
Without access to child care, Kent said, parents often decide&nbsp;that one parent will&nbsp;stay home and care for their children while the other works, which means fewer workers are&nbsp;contributing&nbsp;to businesses and the region's tax base. For families, that means one less income is available to help pay for expenses, he said. 
"Families are juggling housing, food and child care, and a lot of the time juggling whether they can afford to work," said Vicki Sylvain, director of community outreach and engagement for the Child Care Council of Nassau. 
Because of the massive need for child care, Sylvain said it's important for government resources to ensure that more parents have access to assistance.&nbsp; 
"It's a challenge that's across the board, not just for the areas that are underserved or have economic challenges," she said.&nbsp; 
<h3>How can parents offset&nbsp;child care costs?</h3> 
Some programs&nbsp;are available to Long Island parents through county governments and nonprofits, but&nbsp;options are limited, Rojas said. 
One program that's available is&nbsp;the state <a href="https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/ccap/">Child Care Assistance Program</a>, which is funded by state and federal dollars and is administered through Social Services departments in Nassau and Suffolk.&nbsp; 
Additionally,&nbsp;regional scholarships are available through nonprofits like the Workforce Development Institute. 
<h3>What is the state Child Care Assistance Program?</h3> 
CCAP, overseen by the state&nbsp;Office of Children and Family Servicers,&nbsp;provides financial assistance for&nbsp;families that meet certain income and residency requirements. The program relies&nbsp;on federal dollars, which accounted for&nbsp;three quarters of the roughly $12.9 billion provided by the program to New York State families between April 2015 and March 2025, according to the <a href="https://www.osc.ny.gov/reports/budget/fed-funding-ny/child-care-assistance#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20State%20Child,percent%20of%20total%20CCAP%20funding.">state comptroller's office</a>.&nbsp; 
The program can&nbsp;cover more than 90% of market rate costs for child care for most families but coverage is&nbsp;based on income and family size, the governor's office <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-350-million-direct-financial-assistance-low-and-moderate-income#:~:text=Helping%20More%20Working%20Families%20Pay%20for%20Child%20Care&amp;text=This%20new%20initiative%20follows%20an,school%20expenses%20and%20other%20needs.%E2%80%9D">said last year</a>. Most families of four who receive the subsidy pay around $15 per week for care. 
Families seeking financial aid must not <a href="https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/ccap/help.php#CCAP-income">make more than 85%</a> of the state's median income,&nbsp;according to the Office of Children and Family Services. 
For a&nbsp;family of three, for example, the state median income is $112,231.56 in 2025, <a href="https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/2025/inf/25-OCFS-INF-03.pdf">according to the agency</a>. As a result, a family of that size would meet the&nbsp;wage requirements if they earned a combined annual income of $95,396.83 or less. 
To determine eligibility&nbsp;for CCAP assistance, visit the state <a href="https://hs.ocfs.ny.gov/CCAPeligibility/">Child Care Assistance Questionnaire</a>. But even if you believe you are not eligible, Sylvain suggests that interested parents still apply through their local <a href="https://ocfs.ny.gov/directories/localdss.php">Department of Social Services</a>.&nbsp; 
<h3>What other options are available?</h3> 
The Workforce Development Institute, a nonprofit with offices throughout the state,&nbsp;including Long Island, offers&nbsp;scholarships to help with the cost of care. 
The institute's Child Care Scholarship Program is&nbsp;limited in its funding and only offers windows to apply during the year,&nbsp;Sylvain said.&nbsp; 
Recipients receive an average monthly scholarship of $1,000 per child to cover the cost of full-time care, the&nbsp;<a href="https://childcaresolutionscny.org/Uploads/WDI_CCSP_trifold%202025.pdf">WDI</a>&nbsp;website says. 
To qualify <a href="https://childcaresolutionscny.org/Uploads/WDI_CCSP_trifold%202025.pdf">for the scholarship</a>,&nbsp;parents with children 5 years old or younger&nbsp;must meet income&nbsp;requirements that are dependent on family size, parents in the household&nbsp;must be working or enrolled in school or a training program for at least 10 hours per week, &nbsp;and must live outside New York City. 
<h3>What other programs or investments in child care are in the works?</h3> 
Gov.&nbsp;Kathy Hochul announced <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/we-got-it-done-governor-hochul-celebrates-historic-22-billion-investment-child-care-new-york">several investments</a> this year that were included in the state's 2026 budget. Among them are an investment of $400 million to bolster the state's existing CCAP program and&nbsp;$110 million to build or renovate child care centers throughout the state. 
The state also announced an increase to the Child Tax Credit that gives eligible parents a&nbsp;$1,000 credit for children under 4 years old, and a $500 credit for families for kids between 4 and 16 years old.

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Long Island parents pay an average of $24G for child care. Here's how families get help.

LI parents pay an average of $24G for child care. How to get assistance.

AIAudio - Long Island parents pay an average of $24G for child care. Here’s how families get help.


AIAudio - Long Island parents pay an average of $24G for child care. Here's how families get help.

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Beth Whitehouse

Megan and George Holz have been so methodical in planning their maternity and paternity leaves that the East Meadow couple created a spreadsheet to show when each will be off from work to care of their newborn. 
&quot;We are such Type A planners that we actually used an Excel file,&quot; Megan says. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/4506b744-2b7f-4b93-be5d-eea68e7dc160" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/4506b744-2b7f-4b93-be5d-eea68e7dc160', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/4506b744-2b7f-4b93-be5d-eea68e7dc160">STORYWIDGET: What to know about parental leave in 2025 </a> 
It can be complicated to juggle what’s available to mothers and fathers, which can be as many as 20 weeks of time off during a baby’s first year at varying levels of compensation, from no pay at all to full pay. There’s the mothers’ potential entitlement to New York State Short Term&nbsp;Disability after the birth, options for time off for both parents who may be eligible for federal Family Medical Leave rights and/or New York Paid Family Leave financial support, as well as an employee's own accumulated personal paid time off and additional individual company policies. 
Here’s how the Holzes and four other Long Island families are coordinating time off during their babies’ first year: 
<h2>The Holz family </h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/23a0a5d1-bdbd-4352-bce8-6137ce17f122" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/23a0a5d1-bdbd-4352-bce8-6137ce17f122', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/23a0a5d1-bdbd-4352-bce8-6137ce17f122">STORYWIDGET: 'We're fortunate': Maximizing time&nbsp;together&nbsp; </a> 
The first time Megan Holz gave birth two years ago, she took everything she was entitled to as soon as Hunter was born. &quot;I piggybacked all the possible leave I could have all at once,&quot; says Holz, 34, a senior project architect for H2M architects + engineers in Melville. She’s planning to do that again — her due date for her second son is Jan. 17. 
First, Megan will be entitled to six weeks of disability pay if she has a vaginal birth or eight weeks of disability pay if she has a Caesarean section, which pays her $170 a week. 
Then she plans to take the 12 weeks she is entitled to under New York’s Paid Family Leave act, which gives eligible new parents — both men and women — each 67% of their pay up to a cap of $1,177.32 per week, or $14,127.84 total. Her husband, George, 34, an energy consultant, is taking eight weeks of his New York Paid Family Leave as soon as the baby is born. 
Once Megan goes back to work — she’s been working part-time three days a week since Hunter’s birth — both children will be in day care on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. She says day care has been good for Hunter — &quot;He learns so much,&quot; she says — so she’s confident the baby will benefit from it as well. The couple has decided that George will take off two days a week for the remaining four weeks of New York Paid Family Leave that he is entitled to — Mondays and Fridays, the same two days a week that Megan is off. &quot;When I’m home with both of them I l have a little help those days,&quot; Megan says. 
She and George are saving their regular annual paid time off days for other times of the year. 
&quot;I think Paid Family Leave is really great,&quot; Megan says. &quot;It really helps families figure out how to raise their families.&quot; Knowing what they were entitled to receive, the couple was able to save and plan financially for the time off. &quot;We’re fortunate ... I couldn’t imagine&nbsp;going back to work after six to eight weeks,&quot; Megan says. 
<h2>The Connolly family&nbsp;</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/467d575f-0f5e-47cd-beaa-52cf898f1af1" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/467d575f-0f5e-47cd-beaa-52cf898f1af1', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/467d575f-0f5e-47cd-beaa-52cf898f1af1">STORYWIDGET: 'It's going to be tight': Making a sacrifice&nbsp; </a> 
Danna Connolly, 32, is a teacher due to give birth to her first child on Feb. 19 — and she says she will have to return to work six to eight weeks afterward.&nbsp;She is able to use her accrued sick time to have full pay during the postpartum period — she says she has enough for five weeks and one day. But as a teacher on Long Island, she's not eligible for New York Paid Family Leave, she says.&nbsp; 
She could take unpaid time off — even up to two years — and still have a job to come back to. But she says the couple can’t afford to take the financial hit of losing her full salary. &quot;Especially buying a home in 2024,&quot; she says — she and her husband, Steven, 36, a data analyst, just purchased a house in Ridge. 
Fortunately, Steven is able to take up to six months off from his job at 80% pay. So, the couple is planning for him to take the first two weeks off after the baby is born — they’re expecting a boy they plan to name Oscar. Then Steven will go back to work for the weeks Danna is off, and then take the remaining five and a half months of his paternity leave&nbsp;to be home with the baby full time after Danna goes back to work. 
Sacrificing 20% of Steven’s pay is still less of a financial burden than having to put the baby in day care during that time period, Danna says. &quot;It’s going to be tight, but we can afford that,&quot; she says. 
<h2>The Gernavage family </h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/34e77cd8-dbfe-478b-aaa4-1e4d53e25b41" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/34e77cd8-dbfe-478b-aaa4-1e4d53e25b41', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/34e77cd8-dbfe-478b-aaa4-1e4d53e25b41">STORYWIDGET: 'I'm grateful:' Budgeting time and money&nbsp; </a> 
Jacqueline Shine-Gernavage, of Holbrook, took 21 weeks off after her baby, Arthur, was born in May 2024. She took every leave she was entitled to — which came to 17 weeks — and then added four weeks of paid time off. 
Shine-Gernavage, 32, was in the enviable position of working as an executive assistant for an investment firm that covered her full pay for the first 17 weeks, she says, supplementing whatever she received through disability and New York Paid Family Leave to bring her to full salary. 
Her husband, Mark Gernavage, who works for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, took two weeks off after the baby was born using vacation time. Then he went back to work. He took those two weeks at the beginning, he says, &quot;to get us to a point where we were standing on our own two feet. Two weeks was enough for us to get situated.&quot; They saved the rest of his time for later. 
Then, when Shine-Gernavage went back to work in October, Mark took seven weeks off, three of them at 67% pay through New York Paid Family Leave and four weeks of paid time off. The couple also has a toddler, Elliot, who turns 3 later this month. 
&quot;That time I spend with both kids was incredible. Just getting that one-on-one time with them is irreplaceable,&quot; Mark says. &quot;I wish I could take more time to bond with him.&quot; Financially, though, the couple decided they took as much time as they could afford, and got Arthur to the point where he was 7 months old and had as many vaccines as possible before entering day care on Dec. 2. 
&quot;I’m very lucky that my company has such a generous policy,&quot; Shine-Gernavage says. &quot;I’m grateful for that, but at the same time, I know many countries are able to work things out so parents have a much longer time home with their child. I wish I had that.&quot; 
<h2>The Butts family </h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/026a0509-0aeb-4c31-9189-b89093f1bbda" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/026a0509-0aeb-4c31-9189-b89093f1bbda', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/026a0509-0aeb-4c31-9189-b89093f1bbda">STORYWIDGET: 'Simple for us to transition': Self-employed decisions </a> 
Faneca and Elijah Butts, of Amityville, are both self-employed, which was a double-edged sword when it came to maternity and paternity leave. On the one hand, they weren’t eligible for state programs that would have given them some financial support. On the other hand, they were in control of their own schedules and didn’t have to ask permission to take time off to bond with August, who was born in October. 
&quot;When it comes to paternity leave, it was very simple for us to transition. We didn’t have to put in for anything,&quot; says Elijah, 34, who works in the field of finance and can work from home. 
That doesn’t mean they didn’t have to plan ahead, however, they say. 
&quot;Prior to even getting pregnant we planned out how to make sure we had savings for me to take three months off, where we didn’t need that money coming into the home,&quot; says Faneca, 35, who works as a nanny and a model. &quot;That’s the only way we could do it because we had no other resources.&quot; 
In the end, Faneca opted to take two months completely off and then resume her nanny job in December because she gets the children she cares for ready for school in the morning, then goes home for the day while they are in school and comes back to take them to dance or piano. The couple is able to tag team their days, with Elijah on Daddy duty in the early morning and later afternoon, and Faneca on Mommy duty during the school day hours when she is off. &quot;It’s very flexible,&quot; Elijah says. 
<h2>The Kamitsis family </h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/57e17018-4e38-4558-94f4-54dbfab60c41" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/57e17018-4e38-4558-94f4-54dbfab60c41', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/57e17018-4e38-4558-94f4-54dbfab60c41">STORYWIDGET: 'We're never going to get this time back': Spending it together </a> 
Nicolette Kamitsis, an attorney who works in Garden City, just started her maternity leave after giving birth to a baby in January. &nbsp;She plans to take her six weeks of disability at $170 per week and then the full 12 weeks of Paid Family Leave at 67% pay up to that state cap. 
Her husband, Michael, 30, who works as a technician in the sports entertainment industry, is based in New Jersey, and so he is entitled to New Jersey Paid Family Leave. In addition, his employment subsidizes his pay so that he will receive full pay for the 12 weeks. 
The couple could have split up Michael’s leave so that he used it after she went back to work, or used part of it just after the baby was born and the rest after she went back to work. But they ultimately decided they wanted to take the 12 weeks off together with the baby. 
&quot;I’d rather have him there than be struggling by myself,&quot; Nicolette says. And besides, she says, &quot;It’s our first kid. We’re never going to get this time together back.&quot;

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Anthony Irvolino is a teenage boy — but he is a Latina Moms Connect success story. 
The mothers’ group was born a decade ago to help parents navigate raising bicultural Latino children on Long Island, to keep their Latin American language, music and traditions alive for the next generation.&nbsp; 
Anthony, 16, whose mother is Dominican-American, joined his Patchogue-Medford High School&nbsp;Hispanic Heritage club “100 percent” due to his earlier exposure to Latina Moms Connect activities and it “would never have happened” without it, says his mother, Latina Moms member Elisa Irvolino. 
Anthony agrees. “I think it really opened up a part of me I’d never seen before,” he says. His high school club last year performed merengue and bachata dances in front of the high school and elementary school, he says. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Dorothy Santana, the founder of Latina Moms Connect, is interviewed for a tribute video to be shown at the group's gala on Feb. 29. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/4c96a82a-b9d8-4bd5-8f82-61429c4dcc2d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/4c96a82a-b9d8-4bd5-8f82-61429c4dcc2d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/4c96a82a-b9d8-4bd5-8f82-61429c4dcc2d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/4c96a82a-b9d8-4bd5-8f82-61429c4dcc2d/d03bd15303a62b3e8a1c615a45b333455a3663dd.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Dorothy Santana, the founder of Latina Moms Connect, is interviewed for a tribute video to be shown at the group's gala on Feb. 29. </a> 
On Feb. 29, members of Latina Moms Connect will put on fancy clothes and head to a gala to celebrate the group’s 10-year anniversary. Latina Moms Connect founder and president Dorothy Santana’s goal for the next decade: Become a nationwide organization. 
Latina Moms Connect has worked with other Long Island grassroots cultural organizations to launch family events including its annual Three Kings Day Celebration and Parranda Navide&ntilde;a with a Twist Christmas caroling that both began in 2015, and Noche de Velitas, a Colombian night of candles holiday tradition they launched last year. “When children see this, they feel a sense of pride. As they get older, they want to connect to their roots,” says Santana, 54, a Colombian American social worker who has four children and lives in North Babylon. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="The Latina Moms&amp;rsquo; first Sofrito Sunday occurred in Babylon in 2014. 
" data-attr-credit="The Latina Moms’ " data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/411eb740-702c-49c8-b36c-106f40ff68df" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/411eb740-702c-49c8-b36c-106f40ff68df', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/411eb740-702c-49c8-b36c-106f40ff68df"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/411eb740-702c-49c8-b36c-106f40ff68df/KILATINA240105_HO-01.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />The Latina Moms&amp;rsquo; first Sofrito Sunday occurred in Babylon in 2014. </a> 
Latina Moms Connect also runs more intimate group events. Those include their Sofrito Sundays, where parents and children gather to discuss identity and to make the traditional sofrito cooking base together to bring home; Temas y Tapas, which means Topics and Appetizers, where adults, both male and female, address themes of taboo subjects including machismo, finances and mental health; and Charlas Entre Chicas, translating to discussions among women, which can cover topics including reproduction and sexuality. 
Ask Santana what she’s most proud of and she starts to cry. “Becoming an organization. That was a dream in itself,” she says, wiping tears with a tissue from underneath her oversize black-rimmed glasses. 
<h2>RESHAPING THE NARRATIVE</h2> 
Santana, who grew up in Brentwood, had left Long Island for her college and young adult years. But when she married and started a family, she moved back to Long Island in 2005. 
As her family grew, she says she felt there was a lack of opportunity to expose her children to cultural activities. “In suburban living, sports are such a big thing,&quot; she says. &quot;Lots of moms, including myself, were consumed with taking our kids to their activities. There seemed to be less time to get together with your families. If you transplanted from the city, your parents or grandparents stayed in the city.” 
She would occasionally meet other mothers who worried that their children didn’t want to speak Spanish and were embarrassed when their parents did. Santana felt her culture was being diluted, and wanted to connect with other Latina women to talk about how they might reshape the narrative. 
She searched for Facebook groups of Latina mothers raising bicultural kids. “I was first looking to join someone else’s space. I found nothing,” she says. So, in February of 2014, she started what she called Latina Moms of Long Island. “I invited a few friends. They invited a few friends,” she says. At first, she just posted quotes and inspirational messages about identity. 
The first in-person gathering she dubbed Cafecito — coffee time — and held it at a play place in Ronkonkoma. Mothers brought their children. “It wasn’t big. Three people plus me,” Santana says. “I thought it was good because while we were engaging in conversation, their reaction, I knew there was something important we were doing.” Santana then created what has become the group’s signature event — Sofrito Sundays. She wanted women to find “soulful connections.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Mariana Pineda and her son, Max, prepare sofrito during a gathering of Latina moms of bicultural children in Valley Stream. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/dcbe087e-dbdf-48fc-a52e-cc3e2d710b8e" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/dcbe087e-dbdf-48fc-a52e-cc3e2d710b8e', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/dcbe087e-dbdf-48fc-a52e-cc3e2d710b8e"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/dcbe087e-dbdf-48fc-a52e-cc3e2d710b8e/KILATINA230107_0649478.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Mariana Pineda and her son, Max, prepare sofrito during a gathering of Latina moms of bicultural children in Valley Stream. </a> 
Sofrito Sundays is where Elisa Irvolino found the group five years ago. “I thought that the thought provoking questions that Dorothy asked were really good and helped me not only connect with other women but with myself. I was in love with the group from there,” she says. 
One such question was, “What are you doing to keep culture alive in your home?” Irvolino says. Irvolino’s husband is Italian — some of the mothers in the group have the added challenge of raising children with a partner who doesn’t share their background. Irvolino started cooking Dominican dinner regularly on Saturdays — stewed chicken, rice, sweet plantains — and playing Dominican music. “I started exposing them to it and they became more open minded about it, wanting to discover more,” she says. 
She says Latinos can feel isolated without their extended families, their countries of origin, or enough Latinos in their social circles. “Even though you do have a lot of Hispanics in your neighborhood, where are you seeing them? Maybe a few minutes in the supermarket. This allows everyone to get together and really speak to each other,” says Irvolino, who works in window treatment sales. 
<h2>PRAISE FOR EFFORTS</h2> 
In addition to events, the group has&nbsp;volunteered in the community. Early in the pandemic, for instance, they volunteered as interpreters at Covid-19 testing sites, and later worked to promote vaccine awareness. 
Latina Moms Connect drew praise from other members of the Latino community. 
<blockquote> 
 These women have been fighters in the community for such a long time, to try and show our kids, our children, their heritage, to let them not forget where we come from. 
 - Suffolk County Legislator Sam Gonzalez, of Brentwood, who is Puerto Rican, has a newborn granddaughter and says he plans to attend the Feb. 29 gala. 
</blockquote> 
Sergio Argueta, a social worker from Long Beach, founded STRONG (Struggling to Reunite Our New Generation), a gang-prevention group, and says reaching the next generation is critical. He calls himself a “fan and ally” of Latina Moms Connect and facilitated the Temas y Tapas session on machismo. “She’s amplifying the voice of the Latino community,” Argueta says of Santana. 
Three years ago, Santana changed the name of the group from Latina Moms of Long Island to Latina Moms Connect and incorporated as an official not for profit organization. She now has a formal structure, a 10-person board of directors and the qualifications to apply for grants and other funding. Santana does not get paid. 
The gala has an immersive Carnaval theme — a festive cultural celebration popular in many countries. There’ll be costumed Brazilian dancers, Dominican and Colombian performers and other entertainment. The gala will mark the end of one era and the beginning of another one. “My vision,” Santana says, “is to become a national organization and have this kind of group across the country.”

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Qumyka Howell, of Valley Stream, joined after her divorce. “I needed to gain a new friend group, because my usual friend group was through my marriage,”&nbsp;says Howell, 47, who works for the federal government. 
Zulayka Fagan signed up seeking advice about navigating motherhood after having her first child. “It’s been such a benefit connecting&nbsp;with women who are first time moms and veterans,” says Fagan, 36, of Brookhaven, who is an educator. 
Amina Alliyu became a member after moving from Queens to West Hempstead. “Mocha Moms really helped me get comfortable living on Long Island,” says Alliyu, 43, who works in advertising sales. 
Mocha Moms is a mother’s group geared toward women of color, offering mom-nights-out, mom-only brunches, speakers on issues such as personal finance, health and wellness events,&nbsp;online Zoom meetups, community service projects, outings for couples and play dates with the kids. The primary focus is on the women's well-being. 
“If the mom is well and good and healthy, then the family is well and good and healthy,” Howell says. 
<h2>‘NEEDED A SISTERHOOD’</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Wellness Instructor Mimi Borda, of MimiForMeYoga, teaches Charmaine Anderson, of Queens, and Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, during a Mocha Moms fitness class in Bellrose on March 2.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef/0A2A1622.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Wellness Instructor Mimi Borda, of MimiForMeYoga, teaches Charmaine Anderson, of Queens, and Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, during a Mocha Moms fitness class in Bellrose on March 2. </a> 
Mocha Moms was started in 1997 in Maryland by four Black mothers, says co-founder Cheli English-Figaro, who is now 60 and has three grown children. “We came together because we were African American moms who had taken time off or chosen alternate career paths so we could spend more time with our children,” says Figaro, who was an attorney by trade but stepped back from her legal career. 
Back then&nbsp;there was no Zoom meetups&nbsp;or ubiquitous social media. Mocha Moms spread primarily by word-of-mouth and by being featured nationwide in Ebony magazine, NBC news and on the Oprah television talk show, English-Figaro says. It has since grown to be option for all mothers, regardless of their work choices;&nbsp;more than 60 chapters now flourish in more than 20 states, she says. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Claire Burton, 3, of West Hempstead, chooses a bowling ball during a Mocha Moms event at Bowlero in Melville on April 27. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39/KIMOCHA240320_Bowl-01.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Claire Burton, 3, of West Hempstead, chooses a bowling ball during a Mocha Moms event at Bowlero in Melville on April 27. </a> 
Elizabeth Forbes, 46, co-president of the Long Island Chapter of Mocha Moms, discovered the group five years ago. “I’m a mom of six men; my oldest is 26, my youngest is 18,” she says. After she survived a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, she realized she needed a support team outside of her husband and family, she says. “I was constantly working 9 to 5, something was just missing; there was no balance,” says Forbes, a&nbsp;human resources coordinator. “I just needed a sisterhood.” 
The women support each other, give each other advice, encouragement and ideas. The Long Island chapter strives to meet four times a month, with a goal of two meetings being virtual and two in person. Annual membership costs $70, and there may be additional costs for some chapter events. 
<h2>‘LET YOUR HAIR DOWN’</h2> 
Recent in-person events have included a wellness day in conjunction with the Queens chapter of Mocha Moms, where participants were led in an exercise class in the gymnasium of the YMCA in Bellrose, and a weekend bowling outing in Suffolk County for mothers and children. Meetups that include children will often be grouped by the children’s ages; moms of younger children might gather at the Long Island Children’s Museum while moms of tweens and teens might choose an arcade or ice-skating event. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, is co-president of Mocha Moms Long Island.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe/0A2A159312.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, is co-president of Mocha Moms Long Island. </a> 
Online meetings typically include one evening meeting a month and one daytime “Tea and Chat” during a weekday lunch hour. “The first event I went to was a daytime social,” says Alliyu, who has a 3-year-old daughter. “You dial in, let your hair down, talk about motherhood or balancing motherhood and work.” The evening Zoom meetings are great because mothers don’t have to worry about finding child care, says Fagan, who also has a 3-year-old daughter. 
A&nbsp;recent daytime online meetup draws 10 members, and the attendees are delighted when one of the moms tells them that for her birthday, she checked herself into a hotel alone for the weekend, ordering room service and soaking in the tub. She jokes&nbsp;that she is proud of herself for only logging 35 steps while there. “I went to the door for room service to the bed to the bathroom,” she says. 
The women of preschool children share ways they make time for themselves, including their spouses taking the children to gym-based day care when they go to work out so that mom has some down time, about help from grandparents, or taking a Pilates class. 
Not all the women have very young children — Malika Elwin, 49, of Elmont, an attorney, has an 8-year-old. She encourages the newer moms. “It does get a little bit easier,” she tells them. But it’s a double-edged sword — the more independent the kids are, the more time you have, but the less they want or need to spend time with mom, she says. 
Howell is a member with teenagers, two boys ages 15 and 17. “Even when my kids are older and are out of my house I’ll probably still be in the organization,” she says. “It’s the collaboration, the sisterhood, the looking out for each other.”

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A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statement retracted a longstanding statement on its website that vaccines do not cause autism. Local pediatricians and other experts said the new statement is "misleading," ignores decades of scientific research that has not shown a link between vaccines and autism, and omits how vaccines prevent children from dying or getting severely ill from diseases like measles, polio, whooping cough and diphtheria. 
<h3>What does the new statement say?</h3> 
The CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/about/autism.html ">updated its website</a> Wednesday to say that "studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism." 
"It's simply misinformation," said Dr. Eve Meltzer-Krief, a pediatrician at Allied Physician Group’s Huntington Village Pediatrics and vice president of the American Academy of Pediatrics chapter that includes Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens. 
<h3>Is there any truth at all to the new statement?</h3> 
"We can, with great confidence, over decades of research, say that there is no evidence to think that vaccines cause autism, and there is no evidence that we should believe that says vaccines are not safe and, in fact, very, very healthy for children," said Dr. Annemarie Stroustrup, senior vice president for pediatric services at Northwell Health. 
But John Gilmore, of Long Beach, who leads the vaccine-skeptical Autism Action Network, said, "It’s simply an accurate statement of where the science is at this point. The evidence simply isn’t there to prove it one way or the other." 
Stroustrup said, "It's really, really hard in science to prove the negative, to say that this will never, ever happen in the history of the world," But she said, "It has not been proven 100% that there is no case of autism caused by blueberries or caused by wearing a pink hat on Saturdays." 
<h3>What harm can the new statement cause?</h3> 
"What it does is simply sow more confusion for parents at a time when we have multiple measles outbreaks throughout the country, pertussis outbreaks, and a concerningly high level of children not being caught up with their vaccines," Meltzer-Krief said. 
Some families already are choosing not to vaccinate their children "out of caution and confusion and out of not knowing who to trust," Stroustrup said. "They are trying to do the best thing for their family," but not vaccinating their children puts the children at risk of contracting diseases and of spreading them to others, she said. 
<h3>How effective are childhood vaccines?</h3> 
The CDC’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/global-immunization/fast-facts/index.html">own website</a> still states that childhood vaccines save about 4 million lives a year worldwide. 
"Vaccines are probably the most important advance in pediatric medicine over the last couple hundred years," Stroustrup said. 
<h3>Has there been an increase in autism?</h3> 
Yes. The new statement says the increase in the number of autism cases has occurred as the number of vaccines administered to infants has increased. 
Gilmore said, "There are plenty of studies out there that suggest there may be a correlation. And those are simply disregarded." 
The increase in autism cases has been dramatic, from <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17287714/ ">1 in 150 8-year-olds in 2000</a> to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/ss/ss7402a1.htm">1 in 32 in 2022</a>. 
But there is no evidence vaccines have anything to do with the increase, Meltzer-Krief said. The criteria for diagnosing a child with autism has broadened; many children, especially those with milder forms of autism, would not have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in the past, she said. 
In addition, Meltzer-Krief said, "pediatricians and screening professionals have gotten better at diagnosing and screening for autism." 
<h3>What do leading medical and public health groups say?</h3> 
The pediatrics academy and more than 40 other major medical, health and patient advocacy organizations said in a <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2025/statement-from-leading-medical-health-and-patient-advocacy-groups-on-cdc-autism-website-changes">joint statement</a> that they were "alarmed" by the CDC "promoting the outdated, disproven idea that vaccines cause autism." 
<h3>Why did the CDC statement change?</h3> 
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Health and Human Services and a longtime vaccine skeptic, acknowledged in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/us/politics/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccines-autism-website.html">New York Times interview</a> that he directed the CDC to change its statement. 
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who strongly supports vaccines, said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1991599014270365829?s=20 ">post on X</a> that HHS under Kennedy is "redirecting attention to factors we definitely know DO NOT cause autism" from what studies indicate may be the "real causes of autism," such as genetics and environmental toxins.

LIAUTISM251125

What Long Islanders need to know about the CDC's new statement on autism and vaccines

What LIers need to know about the CDC's new statement on autism and vaccines

AIAudio - What Long Islanders need to know about the CDC's new statement on autism and vaccines


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A variety of programs are available to parents taking maternity or paternity leaves, typically a combination of disability insurance, federal Family Medical Leave, New York State Paid Family Leave, earned paid time off and any additional pay or time off under a specific company’s policies. 
As soon as they are ready to disclose their pregnancy to the employer, expectant parents should talk to their human resources department, so they understand what they are entitled to and can plan ahead, advises Jami Schultz, senior director of human resources for Canon U.S.A., based in Melville. 
Liz Uzzo, chief human resources officer for H2M architects + engineers, based in Melville, says she has seen more men taking family leave since the New York Paid Family Leave Act launched in 2018. &quot;I think in the beginning people were probably embarrassed and felt intimidated for a guy to do this,&quot; Uzzo says. &quot;Now the guys are wanting the same flexibility.&quot; 
Uzzo says often parents are trying to keep the baby out of day care for the first year and are coordinating their leaves to stretch the time with a parent at home as long as possible. 
Here is information about each program: 
<h2>New York State Short Term Disability</h2> 
<ul> 
 <li><a href="https://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/DisabilityBenefits/employee-disability-benefits.jsp">Paid at $170 per week</a>&nbsp;to the mother when medically necessary and caused by or in connection with the pregnancy; disability is presumed four weeks prior to the baby’s estimated due date and after the birth for six weeks if vaginal birth, eight weeks if Caesarean section.</li> 
</ul> 
<h2>Federal Family Medical Leave Act</h2> 
<ul> 
 <li>Unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks to care for a family member, in this case the baby. Employees are entitled to return to work in the same job position as when they left. Benefits are continued while they are on leave, but employees must continue to pay their regular contribution portion.</li> 
</ul> 
<h2>New York Paid Family Leave</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/b4b13e3a-f465-4070-bc66-8f2b40d6349d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/b4b13e3a-f465-4070-bc66-8f2b40d6349d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/b4b13e3a-f465-4070-bc66-8f2b40d6349d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/b4b13e3a-f465-4070-bc66-8f2b40d6349d/PaidFamilyLeave.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" /></a> 
<ul> 
 <li>New York State program that provides eligible employees who work in the state up to 12 weeks off at 67% of their pay to a maximum cap of $1,177.32 per week or $14,127.84 total for 2025 to care for any eligible family member, including a newborn. New York is one of the few U.S. states to offer paid family leave; employees contribute to the program through their paychecks.</li> 
 <li>&quot;One of the really nice things about New York Paid Family Leave is that it can be a continuous 12 weeks, or it can be spread out in the year after the baby is born. A lot of employees spread it out incrementally, taking three days a week,&quot; Schultz says.</li> 
 <li>Often FMLA and New York Paid Family Leave must be taken concurrently, in other words, the employee can’t take 12 weeks of FMLA and 12 weeks of Paid Family Leave for a total of 24 weeks. &quot;It’s not intended to extend the leave, that’s the bottom line,&quot; Uzzo says.</li> 
</ul> 
<h2>Paid Time Off</h2> 
<ul> 
 <li>This is an employee’s own earned paid vacation and personal days.</li> 
 <li>Other employer perks: Some companies will supplement the New York Paid Family Leave amount so that an employee has full pay for the 12 weeks of maternity or paternity leave. H2M supplements the disability $170 payments to the mother, for instance, to give the employee full pay for some or all of the weeks, depending on how long they’re worked for the company, Uzzo says.</li> 
</ul>

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PaidFamilyLeave

What does NYS Paid Family Leave, FMLA pay for maternity leave?

What does NYS Paid Family Leave, FMLA pay on Long Island?

As the cost of living on Long Island has&nbsp;mushroomed, so has Kelsey Stanya’s family. She has three children under age 4. And that has created a question for her family that many Long Island parents with young children ask: How can we afford to have one of us stay home full time? 
The answer is not easy, Long Island stay-at-home parents say. Getting by on two incomes on Long Island these days is challenging enough. The stay-at-home math means eliminating one full-time salary while adding a baby to support. Have more children, and the calculation becomes even more of a struggle. But some families are finding ways to make it work, by sacrificing luxuries, by having the employed parent work even harder, by help from extended family and more. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kelsey Stanya with Jax, 5-month-old Reagan and Maverick at their Middle Island home. Stanya was a fourth grade teacher at a private school for eight years before Jax was born." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/6e1a6810-c39f-4e5e-ac83-d92788b5e374" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/6e1a6810-c39f-4e5e-ac83-d92788b5e374', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/6e1a6810-c39f-4e5e-ac83-d92788b5e374"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/6e1a6810-c39f-4e5e-ac83-d92788b5e374/KIHOME250402-0229.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kelsey Stanya with Jax, 5-month-old Reagan and Maverick at their Middle Island home. Stanya was a fourth grade teacher at a private school for eight years before Jax was born.</a> 
One thing Stanya, 30, and her husband, Michael, 31, of Middle Island, did to achieve their goal was to intentionally have their children — Jax, 3, Maverick, 2, and Reagan, 5 months — close in age. That way, Stanya says, she can return to work more quickly if she chooses&nbsp; once they are all in school, potentially minimizing the years the family is living on one income. Stanya was a fourth grade teacher at a private school for eight years before leaving when Jax was born; she's hoping to&nbsp;have one more child. 
She also started a side-hustle focusing on her role as a stay-at-home mother — she’s got 81,000 followers on Instagram under the handle&nbsp;@the_homegrown_mama. She says she goes to the websites of brands she uses for her children — such as their diapers — and shares a code that, if others use it, she is rewarded either with free products,&nbsp;financially or a combination of both. &quot;Any single person can go on their website and use their ‘share a link’,&quot; Stanya says. &quot;Even though I don’t work, I’m able to contribute in that sense. You don’t have to have as many followers as I do.&quot; 
Here is advice from Stanya and other families who have managed to have one stay-at-home parent: 
<h2>Plan ahead</h2> 
Brynn Caponi, 34, of Center Moriches, says her husband, Louie, 34, purposely chose to be a software engineer so he would earn&nbsp;enough money for his wife to stay home with their children. &quot;He went into that career with the goal of supporting his family in that way,&quot; Brynn says. The Caponis have three children, Easton, 4, Hudson, 2, and Isla, 1, and Brynn stopped working outside the home with middle and high school students at a church&nbsp;after Easton was born. &quot;It was kind of natural to slip into the stay-at-home role,&quot; she says. She's not sure how long she'll continue to stay at home, she says, but definitely while the children are young. 
<h2>Divide and conquer</h2> 
Stanya says she takes care of most of the work on the home front. &quot;My husband works in the city in construction, heavy machinery. That’s long hours,&quot; she says. He leaves home at 4:30 in the morning, gets home at 3 p.m. and often will work again after dinner and on weekends because he wants to take on additional roles, she says. &quot;When I met him, I knew kind of the trajectory of his career in the next five to 10 years,&quot; she says. &quot;This is the work hard and save money phase. In the next couple of years, it won’t look like this.&quot; 
It helps that Michael purchased their house in 2012. &quot;Instead of buying a motorcycle or a boat, he purchased a house,&quot; Stanya says. Stanya says she briefly looked into day care with her first pregnancy but found it would have cost $2,000 a month just for one, which bolstered her decision to stay home instead of putting&nbsp;her first child in day care all day. And now she has three. 
<h2>Make sacrifices</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Stephanie Cross, 40, of West Islip, and Kyle Collier, 36, with Jax, now 7, Benji, now 4, and JoJo, now 1, in fall 2024." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/cd964b21-a261-4559-a0f2-d014f0de8e82" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/cd964b21-a261-4559-a0f2-d014f0de8e82', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/cd964b21-a261-4559-a0f2-d014f0de8e82"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/cd964b21-a261-4559-a0f2-d014f0de8e82/5980323.JPG?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Stephanie Cross, 40, of West Islip, and Kyle Collier, 36, with Jax, now 7, Benji, now 4, and JoJo, now 1, in fall 2024.</a> 
Stephanie Cross, 40, of West Islip, says she no longer will grab coffee out or get her hair and nails done as often since she and Kyle Collier, 36, who owns his own business, had their children, Jax, 7, Benji, 4, and JoJo, 1. &quot;Any of these kind of pampering things that we as women enjoy doing for ourselves take a back burner,&quot; she says. &quot;Also, all those activities require someone to watch the children.&quot; 
Cross says it also helps that her family lives in her grandmother’s house; they have the downstairs and her grandmother lives upstairs. &quot;We live with family, so we don’t pay market value rent, fortunately,&quot; Cross says. &quot;It’s not an ideal situation but it’s fine for now while the kids are little at least.&quot; She says there's &quot;no set plan&quot; for how long she will stay at home.&nbsp; 
<h2>Cut costs</h2> 
&quot;One of the biggest things I did was I shopped at thrift stores,&quot; says Nicole Smith, 54, of Freeport, who spent 24 years as a stay-at-home mother to Jordyn, now 24, Brian, 20, and Bailee, 18. She did it before thrifting was &quot;a thing,&quot; she says. 
Smith made her husband, Brian, now 53, who is a field technician for Verizon, lunch every day, and meal planned family dinners. &quot;Really being intentional with your money,&quot; she says of how she did it. &quot;Really being conscious of how much you spend and what you spend it on.&quot; Even down to the small items, she says: &quot;We didn’t buy ice cream from the truck,&quot; Smith says. There were ice pops in the freezer, she says. &quot;Little things like that you don’t realize but they add up.&quot; Now that her youngest is in college — a freshman at Syracuse University — she’s started her own organizing and charcuterie businesses. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Nicole Smith, 54, of Freeport, spent 24 years as a stay-at-home mother to Jordyn, 24, Brian, 20, and Bailee, 18. Her husband, Brian, 53, is a field technician with Verizon. " data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/66ac85db-17ed-41b6-9cc8-8a88699e4911" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/66ac85db-17ed-41b6-9cc8-8a88699e4911', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/66ac85db-17ed-41b6-9cc8-8a88699e4911"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/66ac85db-17ed-41b6-9cc8-8a88699e4911/Collaro%20family.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Nicole Smith, 54, of Freeport, spent 24 years as a stay-at-home mother to Jordyn, 24, Brian, 20, and Bailee, 18. Her husband, Brian, 53, is a field technician with Verizon. </a> 
Cross echoes Smith. &quot;I can’t fathom trying to buy clothes full price on a limited income. The consignment sale has made a difference,&quot; she says. She buys the kids’ clothes, her clothes, her husband’s clothing, toys and even birthday presents that way at discounted prices. 
&quot;I’m very much a ‘use things until they die’ kind of person,&quot; Cross says. She says, for instance, she didn’t buy a new tablet until the one she had was so old that it wouldn’t support her apps anymore. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;The local library is a big help in controlling family entertainment costs, Brynn Caponi says. &quot;I don’t rent movies; we get them from the library. I don’t buy books, we get them from the library,&quot; she says. She’s even checked out passes&nbsp;to the Long Island Children’s Museum and Harbes Farms from the Center Moriches Library. &quot;I once checked out an inflatable screen with a projector to watch an outdoor movie,&quot; she says. &quot;It’s a huge resource for us.&quot; 
<h2>Take advantage of Long Island</h2> 
A couple of moms praised the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank. &quot;To go there for the day is absolutely free,&quot; Stanya says. &quot;Getting out and doing things is so key for stay-at-home moms. You can find a mom in your neighborhood and meet up and go to the park. It breaks up the day and gives you something other than the mundane laundry, vacuuming, picking up the toys.&quot; 
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Caponi says she asks her parents and in laws for annual passes such as the Long Island Aquarium for holiday presents; she says she takes the children to the aquarium at least once a week. &quot;We have a camper, and we camp with our&nbsp;kids at Smith Point,&quot; she says. &quot;There are so many awesome places to go on Long Island. It just makes for a really fun childhood.&quot; 
<h2>Remind yourself what you’re getting in return</h2> 
Stanya says she recognizes she's fortunate. “The fact that I get to stay home with my children is an absolute privilege,” she&nbsp;says. 
&quot;The hardest part is keeping the mindset and your priorities and remembering how lucky you are living on Long Island,&quot; Caponi says. She and her husband both grew up in Westhampton. &quot;I would rather live in a small older house on Long Island than a mansion anywhere else.&quot; 
The Smith family stayed in the same house for 25 years so a parent could be home with the children. Even with today's higher costs, she says she would have made it work so she could be home. 
&quot;We could have had the big mansion, but then I would have missed those moments with them,&quot; Smith says. &quot;That wouldn’t have been worth it.&quot;

KIHOME250402

KIHOME250402_photos

How single-income families make it work on Long Island

How single-income families make it work on LI

Marina and Nicholas Di Tusa are due with their first child in June. The baby was no surprise for the North Bellmore couple — but the cost of preparing for a new human life is. 
The mom-and-dad-to-be budgeted $3,000 just to set up the nursery&nbsp;— to paint the room&nbsp;yellow, to purchase furniture, to buy a rug. “That was our anticipation, but now that we’re looking into it, that’s not going to be enough,” says Marina, 28, who, like her husband, 32, works in health care. 
The Di Tusas spent $4,000 on their furniture set from Bambi Baby in Melville, which included&nbsp;a&nbsp;dresser with a changing table top and a crib that transitions to a toddler bed. They're now thinking they will&nbsp;end up spending $5,000 to outfit their baby's room&nbsp;alone.&nbsp; 
<h3>Watch: Newsday's Elisa DiStefano and Beth Whitehouse shop for baby</h3> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-align="center" data-onecms-id="contentid/1c0b935f-c3bd-46ac-b85a-d7c5f839a6d5" data-onecms-type="video" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/1c0b935f-c3bd-46ac-b85a-d7c5f839a6d5', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/1c0b935f-c3bd-46ac-b85a-d7c5f839a6d5"><img src="/onecms/polopoly_fs/atex.onecms.Widget-pCustomResourceArea!/img/video-x-generic.png" /></a> 
And then there are all the other items new babies need: the car seat, high chair, stroller,&nbsp;clothes. The would-love-to-have items, like books, bouncers and&nbsp;toys. And the paraphernalia, like baby thermometers and rattles. All of that may cost thousands more. This is aside from any medical costs incurred in childbirth. 
As with any product, baby gear prices can vary depending on whether the item is&nbsp;entry-level, luxury or something in between. Several pregnancy, baby and parenting sites have studied the average price of setting up for baby, including outfitting the nursery with furniture as well as&nbsp;getting other gear that parents think babies need to start their lives.&nbsp;“Parents will find with baby gear you can spend as much as you want on these products. There are splurges everywhere you look,” says Robin Hilmantel, a senior director for the BabyCenter app,&nbsp;a parenting and pregnancy resource. 
BabyCenter&nbsp;compiled a report in&nbsp;August 2022&nbsp;that showed the average costs of commonly purchased items for baby,&nbsp;including&nbsp;$230 for an infant car seat, $210 for a crib and $168 for a crib mattress.&nbsp;“All of those popular one-time expenses come to about $4,000,” Hilmantel says.&nbsp;BabyCenter offers a <a href="https://www.babycenter.com/baby-cost-calculator">First-Year Baby Costs Calculator</a> that lets parents plug in their own choices and add up the cost. 
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Pregnancy resource <a href="https://www.thebump.com/a/advice-for-saving-up-for-a-baby">The Bump also did a membership study</a> in 2023, and the average self-reported spend was $4,300 in baby’s first year, including renovating and redecorating, baby-proofing, announcements, books, toys, travel items, formula/food, diapers and furniture. That’s not including what friends and family spent for gifts for the expectant parents; many new parents have baby showers. 
“All in all, four thousand is a very comfortable budget,” says Ari Goodman, owner of the ANB Baby boutique in Wantagh. “You can really get some nice premium brands within that budget. You can get your stroller, your car seat, your crib, your changing table.” 
Newsday asked expectant&nbsp;parents and parents of babies on Long Island what they spent to set up, what their splurge items were and, if they already have a baby, what they think, in retrospect, they could have crossed off the list. 
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<h2>Robyn Romanoff and Steven Galvao, both 31, of Middle Island</h2> 
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<h3></h3> 
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Romanoff would like the SNOO Smart Sleeper bassinet for her baby. The SNOO professes to sense when a baby wakes up in the middle of the night and rocks the baby back to sleep. “Someone like me who really values sleep, I’m going to splurge on something like that,” she says. 
The couple — Galvao is studying to be a physical therapist and is a pararescue man in the Air Force and Romanoff is in wine and spirits sales — live in a two-bedroom condo, so fitting in all the baby gear will be a challenge. Romanoff has been tackling the bigger items, and she is currently researching strollers. She’s looking for lightweight options and for simplicity in opening and closing, “without a million mechanisms,” she says. “The goal is to test out a few in stores.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Husband and wife, soon to be mother and father, Steven Galvao and Robyn Romanoff hold the most recent sonogram of their baby due in June/July in their Coram condo on January 17, 2024.." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/9a391e7b-fa23-4bc9-bf49-91fe597b6e58" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/9a391e7b-fa23-4bc9-bf49-91fe597b6e58', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/9a391e7b-fa23-4bc9-bf49-91fe597b6e58"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/9a391e7b-fa23-4bc9-bf49-91fe597b6e58/KINEWBABY240103_Coram-03.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Husband and wife, soon to be mother and father, Steven Galvao and Robyn Romanoff hold the most recent sonogram of their baby due in June/July in their Coram condo on January 17, 2024..</a> 
<h2>Deneilla Webb, 33, of Smithtown</h2> 
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Deneilla&nbsp;also has a son, Aiden, who is 12 years old, so the Webbs had to start all over with newborn products. She splurged on the diaper bag so that she doesn't mind wearing it.&nbsp;“It has that stylish look. You can reuse it if you have another.”&nbsp;Deneilla says she’s found a baby carrier extremely useful because it allows her to get things done while wearing the baby. She also says her baby loves the activity center, which keeps her occupied. 
She advises investing in a quality stroller, car seat and crib. The crib she and her husband chose transitions into a toddler bed. “I got more bang for my buck that way,” she says. Their car seat also transitions to hold a toddler. “It’s worth the extra expense if they can kind of grow with it,” she says. “You see your money back over time.” She has also found the high chair worthwhile. “They need somewhere to eat,” she says. And the baby needs an infant bathtub, she says. 
There were items she didn't buy at all.&nbsp;“I bought a walker for $60. She didn’t end up using it,” Deneilla says. “I didn’t find the swing to be useful. The bassinet is kind of a waste because they grow out of it so quickly.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Deneilla Webb of Smithtown says it cost at least $4500-$5500 to get ready for the arrival of her daughter, Liviana. Mom and baby are pictured here during the summer of 2023.

PHOTO CREDIT: Deneilla Webb
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3b353250-c666-46cc-a178-a90aa5e5afa3" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3b353250-c666-46cc-a178-a90aa5e5afa3', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3b353250-c666-46cc-a178-a90aa5e5afa3"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3b353250-c666-46cc-a178-a90aa5e5afa3/KINEWBABY240103_01.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Deneilla Webb of Smithtown says it cost at least $4500-$5500 to get ready for the arrival of her daughter, Liviana. Mom and baby are pictured here during the summer of 2023. PHOTO CREDIT: Deneilla Webb </a> 
<h2>Marina and Nicholas Di Tusa, age 28 and 32, of North Bellmore</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/fb8dbb6b-7903-45a3-bc8b-65f0ab709202" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/fb8dbb6b-7903-45a3-bc8b-65f0ab709202', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/fb8dbb6b-7903-45a3-bc8b-65f0ab709202">STORYWIDGET: KINEWBABY240103_WIDGET3</a> 
Marina considers herself “a serial adder,” constantly updating her registry choices and covering every possible item a baby might need including accessories and infant clothing; add that to the $5,000 she expects to spend for the nursery, and she says she wouldn't be surprised if the costs topped $13,000 in the end. 
“It’s a very overwhelming process,” Marina says of getting ready for a new baby. “There’s so many strollers, there’s so many high chairs, so which one is the best?” 
The couple will be guests of honor at a baby shower, which will help a lot, Marina says. She says she likes that her registry allows friends and family to chip in toward some of the big-ticket items. “If you bought everything yourself — the stroller, the car seat, the high chair — these are all pretty expensive,” she says.&nbsp;Splurging on the stroller is worth it, she says.&nbsp;When they have a second child, they’ll be able to wheel both of them at once. “Planning ahead,” she says. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Expectant parents Marina Di Tusa and Nicholas Di Tusa at their home in North Bellmore on Dec. 29." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/66dc76a6-2961-43f9-b7a9-84f1723f95b1" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/66dc76a6-2961-43f9-b7a9-84f1723f95b1', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/66dc76a6-2961-43f9-b7a9-84f1723f95b1"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/66dc76a6-2961-43f9-b7a9-84f1723f95b1/KINEWBABY2401031.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Expectant parents Marina Di Tusa and Nicholas Di Tusa at their home in North Bellmore on Dec. 29.</a> 
<h2>Jessica Sloan-Hernandez and Issac Hernandez, ages 38 and 32, of Huntington Station</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/e4810fa7-f301-4923-a51f-c7922b45476b" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/e4810fa7-f301-4923-a51f-c7922b45476b', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/e4810fa7-f301-4923-a51f-c7922b45476b">STORYWIDGET: KINEWBABY240103_WIDGET4</a> 
Sloan-Hernandez was determined not to spend more than $1,200 to buy all the gear the couple would need for a newborn. “I’m a very frugal person,” Sloan-Hernandez says. “Babies, they don’t need as much as society tells us they do.” 
Sloan-Hernandez is a former special education teacher who is currently a stay-at-home mother. Hernandez is a teacher as well. At their baby shower, they asked guests to bring diapers of different sizes or gift cards from Target that they could use throughout the year. They had a diaper raffle at the shower — anyone who brought diapers got a ticket, and at the end of the event they drew for a prize.&nbsp;“We just finished our last box of diapers. We didn’t pay for diapers the whole year,” she says. 
They turned to Facebook Marketplace for items including their stroller. “I really wanted the Mockingbird stroller,” she says. It retails for about $400 to $450. “I found it on marketplace for $120 with all accessories. You can be a mom on a budget. I get that new moms want everything brand new. Buy you’ve got to be open to used.” 
BabyCenter's&nbsp;Hilmantel&nbsp;agrees buying used can be a great option. However, she offers this caveat — buy car seats and cribs new for safety reasons. “Those are the categories where it’s really crucial that you buy new,” she says. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Playpen built for three, (l-r) Jessica Sloan-Hernandez, Issac Hernandez, and their daughter, Luna Maria Hernandez Sloan, 1, play with the toys at their home in Huntington Station, Jan. 14, 2024. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/655a7018-0492-4db5-b608-3f5c867299c2" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/655a7018-0492-4db5-b608-3f5c867299c2', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/655a7018-0492-4db5-b608-3f5c867299c2"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/655a7018-0492-4db5-b608-3f5c867299c2/KINEWBABY240103_Hernandez-16.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Playpen built for three, (l-r) Jessica Sloan-Hernandez, Issac Hernandez, and their daughter, Luna Maria Hernandez Sloan, 1, play with the toys at their home in Huntington Station, Jan. 14, 2024. </a>

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NewsdayTV&#39;s Elisa DiStefano and Newsday family writer Beth Whitehouse have a look at what it costs to shop for a new baby.

Buy, buy baby: The cost of shopping for a newborn

Costly arrival: Your new baby 

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New baby costs: What I spent to set up for baby — and what purchases to skip 

Your new baby's nursery and gear may cost you at least $4,000

When Nicole Amato’s son took his first steps&nbsp;this past Thanksgiving, Amato sent a video of Roman walking to three recipients: her mom, her dad, and then to the group of women she met just over a year ago at a new moms' suppport group. 
 “That was the next in line after my parents. That should tell you how I feel about this group,” says Amato, 37, an accountant from Lindenhurst whose son is now 14 months old. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ZjZjZWU1NGEtYWU3Mi00" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ZjZjZWU1NGEtYWU3Mi00', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ZjZjZWU1NGEtYWU3Mi00"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ZjZjZWU1NGEtYWU3Mi00/KIMOM2212289.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" /></a> 
 Amato joined a group for mothers of newborns called “Fourth Trimester Support Circle” at the Nesting Place in Farmingdale when Roman was 4&nbsp;weeks old, not knowing what to expect. Twelve&nbsp;mothers with infants ages newborn to 5 months met weekly for six weeks for 90 minutes each time, and the group of strangers grew into what they now refer to as a “family” that has helped each other beyond the formal end of the group, through the diaper rashes, sleep issues and feeding concerns of the first year of parenthood. They recently had an anniversary gathering with their babies at the Nesting Place’s Yaphank location, which opened last spring. 
<h3> ‘UPLIFTED BY THE WOMEN’ </h3> 
 “These groups are so important for many different reasons,” says Marla Hamilton, 41, of Greenlawn, a postpartum doula who facilitates new mother groups for The Nesting Place. “It’s so all-consuming when you have a new baby. It normalizes the feeling of struggle when it’s really hard. The nitty-gritty of certain topics is secondary to what people get — which is community.” 
 Most mothers&nbsp;bring their infants with them to the group, and they know they don’t have to worry about it if they didn’t have a chance to shower, or if their baby is screaming, or if they show up late because they just couldn’t get it together to get out of the house on time, Hamilton says. 
 “It was a nice place to let down your guard and feel heard,” says group member Elana Snyder, 36, an insurance broker from Seaford whose daughter, Harper, is now 15 months old. “You felt uplifted by the women.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ODVkYjBjNDYtMzM3Zi00" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ODVkYjBjNDYtMzM3Zi00', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ODVkYjBjNDYtMzM3Zi00"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ODVkYjBjNDYtMzM3Zi00/KIMOM2212287.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" /></a> 
 Each Fourth Trimester group&nbsp;hears from guest speakers on topics such as mental health and bodily changes postpartum, says Laura Siddons, co-owner of The Nesting Place, which offers the groups at its locations in Farmingdale, Merrick and Yaphank as well as virtually, with a group starting at least one of the locations every month. They get to share their concerns about issues including how baby affects the division of labor in their marriage or how isolated they might be feeling on maternity leave; they also share joys and milestones and ideas. 
 “They really get to build the relationship week after week,” Siddons says. “Sometimes it’s not advice, it’s just, ‘Me, too.’” 
 &nbsp; 
<h3> ‘FIND YOUR TRIBE’ </h3> 
 Olivia Whiteman of Northport, 34, who was also part of Amato's contingent of mothers, reached out to The Nesting Place when her baby, Cora, was less than 2 weeks old. “This was my first child, and I had a C-section. On day nine, I was really struggling with no sleep and very emotional with everything going on,” says Whiteman, who works in insurance. “I called the day before the group was supposed to start to ask if they could squeeze me in. This became my group therapy, my family. It was a place to really be honest with each other. Everybody always encourages you to find your tribe … nobody knows what you’re going through quite like people who are going through it at the same moment.” 
 Melissa Carbonette, 32, of Bayville, is a pediatric nurse practitioner, so she was skeptical that the group would be helpful to her because of her medical training. But the camaraderie she formed with Amato, Whiteman and the other women in the group&nbsp;has been invaluable, she says. 
 At the first meeting, when the women went around the circle to introduce themselves and tell their stories, everyone was in tears. “All of us cried that day, sharing intimate experiences with people who were strangers for the most part. Every week we got more and more comfortable,”&nbsp;Carbonette says. 
 After the six weeks was over, the group kept in touch, meeting for outings with their babies, for mom-only nights, and for each child’s first birthday party. “We talk all day every day,” says Kaitlyn Sanabria, 32, a hospital social worker from Farmingdale whose son, Cameron, is now 14 months old. That continued connection is not unusual for many of the groups that bond during their time together, Hamilton says. 
<h3> A CELEBRATION </h3> 
 The women requested the celebration marking their yearlong journey together, and&nbsp;The Nesting Place hosted it in their&nbsp;Yaphank play area, Siddons says. 
 The&nbsp;mothers&nbsp;marveled&nbsp;at how much their children have grown, Amato says. &quot;A lot of it was seeing how they are interacting now compared to the beginning when they were little potatoes lying in our laps,&quot; she says.&nbsp; 
 The&nbsp;progress was especially clear when the mothers tried to reenact a photo they took at the end of the official&nbsp;Fourth Trimester course, when the babies were only a few months old and the moms&nbsp;could easily line them up in age order and snap a shot. When they tried to recreate the image&nbsp;at the reunion, it was an entirely different story. &quot;They were crawling away, running away, reaching for us,&quot; Amato says. 
 “It exceeded my expectations,&quot; Amato says of the whole group experience. &quot;I would recommend that any mom find a support group, whether at the Nesting Place or&nbsp;elsewhere. Find other mothers and lean on them because you’re going to need it.”

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Long Island moms still find support in 'Fourth Trimester' group, one year later 

LI moms still find support in 'Fourth Trimester' group, one year later 

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Newsday&#39;s Steve Langford meets with moms who participated in a &quot;Fourth Trimester&quot; new moms group at The Nesting Place with their children.&nbsp;

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'Fourth trimester' mom group reunites; more options to help mothers on LI

Yaphank

Farmingdale

'Fourth trimester" mom group reunites' more options to help mothers on LI

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During the school year, Charlie Rosso, 10, was mocked and called names every day at his Riverhead middle school because he stutters. 
"I kind of get used to it, almost, but still I don't like it," Charlie said. 
No one ridiculed Charlie on Thursday at a free camp for stutterers that he and 15 other kids ages 5 to 16 are attending this week at Stony Brook University's Southampton campus. 
"I am happy that I don't come home every day with all these thoughts in my head that everyone's just making fun of me," he said. 
Instead, Charlie was the one cracking jokes as he stood on stage in front of about 50 kids, counselors and others at a camp talent show. Other participants tap-danced, did splits and read a poem to applause. 
For decades, the traditional approach to stuttering was to sit a child in a room with a speech therapist to work on topics such as speaking more slowly and starting more smoothly when talking, said Joy Kling, the camp coordinator and a clinical professor of speech language pathology at Stony Brook. 
Today, "you’re really focusing on the whole person and how they communicate," not just directly trying to improve fluency, she said. 
The camp, developed by the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research at the University of Texas at Austin,&nbsp;focuses on increasing a child’s confidence, resiliency and self-acceptance, through activities such as skits and hearing from adults who stutter, such as&nbsp;former NBA player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is scheduled to speak Friday. <a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Charlie Rosso, 10, in the library at Stony Brook University Southampton campus where he attends camp with other kids who stutter." data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/f4f8a248-1c29-4b3a-a7df-3b5db8b69748" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/f4f8a248-1c29-4b3a-a7df-3b5db8b69748', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/f4f8a248-1c29-4b3a-a7df-3b5db8b69748"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/f4f8a248-1c29-4b3a-a7df-3b5db8b69748/6T5A3125.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3">Charlie Rosso, 10, in the library at Stony Brook University Southampton campus where he attends camp with other kids who stutter.</a> 
On Tuesday participants ordered from an ice cream truck. Stutterers often have more trouble pronouncing certain letters than others, so children fearful of stuttering may order a chocolate ice cream cone even if they really want vanilla, Kling said. The camp encourages them to order what they want, even if it means they stutter, she&nbsp;said. 
"It’s not fun to have a flavor of ice cream you don’t want or don’t like," and not ordering what you&nbsp;want can lead to guilt and shame, she said. 
Even though the camp does not directly work to reduce how often a child stutters, by empowering the children "to speak how they speak" and instilling confidence, it does sometimes increase fluency, Kling said. 
"The more confident they are, and the more times they put themselves out there and just keep talking with other people, they start to become better communicators," she said. "When they really feel good about it, they want to keep doing it." 
Charlie said when he was younger, he never wanted to speak up in class and avoided words that gave him problems. This&nbsp;past school year, he asked to read in class every day, in part because a friend also was in the class, he was comfortable with his teacher and the kids who teased him were in another classroom. 
"Now that I'm in this camp, I've just realized that if kids make fun of me, it's just their problem," he said. <a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Oliver Stone-Arbelaez, 5, high-fives camp counselor Hayley Weltner, 22, after performing in the talent show Thursday." data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/312cb2c9-0ba3-40fe-95ec-9ed91a7c1947" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/312cb2c9-0ba3-40fe-95ec-9ed91a7c1947', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/312cb2c9-0ba3-40fe-95ec-9ed91a7c1947"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/312cb2c9-0ba3-40fe-95ec-9ed91a7c1947/1C0A6425.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3">Oliver Stone-Arbelaez, 5, high-fives camp counselor Hayley Weltner, 22, after performing in the talent show Thursday.</a> 
Trey Hopkins, 8, said he has never been the target of teasing because of his stuttering. His mother, AviElle Hopkins, 39, said that may be in part&nbsp;because he had been with the same small group of&nbsp;classmates&nbsp;since kindergarten at Lawrence Woodmere Academy in Woodmere. But <a href="https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/lawrence-woodmere-academy-close-school-year-wgnsbi3r">the school will not offer classes</a> in the 2025-26 school year, and the elder Hopkins said she’s nervous about what will happen at&nbsp;his new school. 
Hopkins said one reason she and Trey have traveled two hours every morning from Springfield Gardens, Queens, to the camp is the hope that, in case he encounters problems,&nbsp;it builds up his resiliency. 
Trey has talked online with other kids who stutter, but the camp is the first time he has met any in person, Hopkins said. She likes how he sees kids "really advocate for themselves, and also to just feel like he’s not alone." 
<a href="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/stuttering ">Stuttering is most common in young children</a>, but most outgrow it. <a href="https://www.stutteringhelp.org/prevalence ">About 1% of adult Americans </a>— more than 3 million people — stutter, according to The Stuttering Foundation, a nonprofit. Four times as many males stutter as females. 
As Trey talked Thursday with a Newsday reporter, he stuttered in almost every sentence, but he never stopped talking. 
"My goal is that even though I stutter, it doesn’t really mean I’m scared," he said. 
He said he’s learned at the camp that "you could feel proud or happy or great when you stutter." 
On Thursday, Trey took the stage at the talent show to sing and dance.&nbsp;He introduced himself by saying, "I’m 8 years old, and I’m a person who stutters." 
The audience cheered loudly.

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At camp for kids who stutter, cheers and support

Cheers and support at talent show for kids who stutter

AIAudio - At camp for kids who stutter, cheers and support


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Stony Brook University&#39;s Southampton campus is hosting a free camp for kids who stutter. The camp&nbsp;focuses on increasing confidence, resilience and self-acceptance.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Camp holds talent show for children who stutter

Stony Brook

Southampton

'Your voice is very important'

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Leo McDonald’s shirt is flecked with applesauce, and he ignores the globs of it on his chin as a teacher at the Early Childhood Center in Farmingdale&nbsp;encourages the 2-year-old to keep playing with the food. Leo puts his hands in it, uses a silver cup to scoop some to transfer to a bowl and, when he feels like it, delivers some right into his mouth. 
Or close enough. <a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/38080e9c-09f8-4b66-aff7-c1a0a17a85cc" data-onecms-type="animation" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/38080e9c-09f8-4b66-aff7-c1a0a17a85cc', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/38080e9c-09f8-4b66-aff7-c1a0a17a85cc">ANIMATION: animation_1763745854</a> 
It’s sensory play time during a new drop-off program <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/toddler-hours-trampoline-parks-2025-c94c9rtq">for toddlers</a> run by Reimagined NY Kids in the new Early Childhood Center at <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/baby-yoga-long-island-wnaz03yh">The Nesting Place in Farmingdale</a>. Playing with applesauce helps the children age 2 to 4 experience wet textures as well as develop fine motor skills. But the ultimate goal of the 2½-hour classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays&nbsp;is to help children&nbsp;— and parents — get comfortable spending time apart, says Reimagined owner Deanna Powers. Children can attend one, two or three days a week. <a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Deanna Powers, owner of Reimagined NY Kids, engages children and their caretakers at the new Early Childhood Center in The Nesting Place in Farmingdale." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/8fa49bae-a4b2-481b-85f9-ce5ecc8639c9" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/8fa49bae-a4b2-481b-85f9-ce5ecc8639c9', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/8fa49bae-a4b2-481b-85f9-ce5ecc8639c9"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/8fa49bae-a4b2-481b-85f9-ce5ecc8639c9/KIREIMAGINED251022-0395.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3">Deanna Powers, owner of Reimagined NY Kids, engages children and their caretakers at the new Early Childhood Center in The Nesting Place in Farmingdale.</a> 
Some of the families worked up to the drop-off class with another new offering — an eight-week separation program launched in September for children&nbsp;age 18 months to 3 years that had parents leaving each weekly&nbsp;class 15 minutes earlier&nbsp;while the child stayed, until the children gradually adjusted to being without the caregiver at all.&nbsp;"It’s a bridge between our ‘Mommy and Me’ and our drop-off class," Powers says. "We slowly wind back. The ulterior motive is you get to leave eventually and get a hot cup of coffee." 
The separation program and the subsequent drop-off program are held in the new Early Childhood Center, which opened adjacent to The Nesting Place in September. 
Juana and Zachary Weinreb, both 35 and&nbsp;of East Islip,&nbsp;a teacher and software engineer respectively, had their daughter, Luca, 20 months old, do the separation program this fall; she is now in the drop-off program. "It definitely helped her transition. She was able to get comfortable&nbsp;in the space and with the teachers. She just goes right in, like she knows where she is," Juana says.&nbsp; <a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Children play at the sensory table in the Early Childhood Center." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/23ce4ecc-27a8-4f9d-9b75-8c7650f426ee" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/23ce4ecc-27a8-4f9d-9b75-8c7650f426ee', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/23ce4ecc-27a8-4f9d-9b75-8c7650f426ee"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/23ce4ecc-27a8-4f9d-9b75-8c7650f426ee/OBJ14488266_11528?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3">Children play at the sensory table in the Early Childhood Center.</a> 
The next separation program cycle is planned for January, Powers says, after which the center will add drop-off class options on Mondays and Fridays as well. The cost for the 90-minute separation program, which runs on Saturdays, is $360 and is limited to five to eight children, each with a parent in a class; then the drop-off classes&nbsp;cost $310 a month for one day a week or $600 a month&nbsp;for two days a week and are limited to 10 students in each class.&nbsp; 
In addition to sensory play, the children experience circle time for speech and language development and movement exercises, such as <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/indoor-play-places-long-island-toddlers-i5gxnn52">obstacle course</a> or yoga, to practice gross motor skills, Powers says. 
"I felt there was a need in the community for a center that was really focused on childhood development," says Powers, an occupational therapist who created the curriculum &nbsp;with the help of a physical therapist and a speech therapist. <a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kids enjoy a sensory snack in the Early Childhood Center." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/f11669b7-ab3f-4c9a-b312-c5ba631e4dcb" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/f11669b7-ab3f-4c9a-b312-c5ba631e4dcb', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/f11669b7-ab3f-4c9a-b312-c5ba631e4dcb"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/f11669b7-ab3f-4c9a-b312-c5ba631e4dcb/KIREIMAGINED251022-0306.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3">Kids enjoy a sensory snack in the Early Childhood Center.</a> 
Leo is one child who went into the drop-off program cold turkey. "I wanted to enroll my 2-year-old in a program that emphasizes play, exploration and social interaction rather than early academics," says his mother, Dawn, 29, a speech language pathologist. 
Lindsey Cariello, 28, of Wantagh, a government grant manager, says she’s happy that "getting messy and playing" is part of the day for her son, Teddy, 2. "It’s so good for them," she says of the children. And, she says&nbsp;she’s happy to delegate that messy play&nbsp;to the center. "All right, you guys do that," she jokes.

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New Farmingdale drop-off program helps toddlers with separation

New drop-off program helps toddlers with separation

AIAudio - New Farmingdale drop-off program helps toddlers with separation


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Reimagined NY Kids, located in Farmingdale,&nbsp;offers classes for children and parents, including one that teaches separation skills. NewsdayTV&rsquo;s&nbsp;Elisa DiStefano has more.&nbsp;

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'It really helps'

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Graciela Benavides had planned to be in law school by now. But she got pregnant when she was 16&nbsp;and has to focus&nbsp;on caring and providing for&nbsp;her now 5-year-old daughter. 
As Tatiana quietly played Hungry Hungry Hippos at a table a few feet away, the 22-year-old Uniondale mom&nbsp;said she loves her daughter deeply but sometimes thinks how her life would have been different if she had waited longer to have a child. 
"I do have a&nbsp;bit of regret because I feel like if I didn't have her, I would have been more free to do other things," she said. 
Hundreds of Long Island&nbsp;teenagers have babies every year. But far fewer are giving birth than in the 1990s and 2000s, mirroring&nbsp;state and federal trends that experts said are driven primarily by greater use of effective contraception. 
Sexual education programs, higher college-going rates, and what some surveys said is fewer adolescents having sex also are contributing to the sharp declines, researchers and doctors said. 
The birth rate among Long Island girls 15, 16 and 17 dropped more than 75% between 1997 and 2022,&nbsp;according to state Health Department data for the latest and earliest years for which there are county-level records. For every 1,000 Nassau girls between 15 and 17, 8.2 gave birth in 1997, compared with 1.9 girls in 2022. In Suffolk, the rate went from 10.9 to 2.6. 
Birth rates for&nbsp;Long Island 18- and 19-year-olds fell&nbsp;by about two-thirds. Rates for the small number of girls ages 10 to 14 who gave birth also declined.&nbsp; <a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/70deb938-4ade-4417-9495-57518ff33d61" data-onecms-type="storywidget" data-subtype="htmlBlurb" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/70deb938-4ade-4417-9495-57518ff33d61', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/70deb938-4ade-4417-9495-57518ff33d61">STORYWIDGET: liTEENBIRTH260201_widget</a> 
Teen birth rates have been falling nationwide since the early 1990s, when the large number of teen pregnancies&nbsp;led to&nbsp;widespread concern.&nbsp;Teen mothers and their children are more likely to live in poverty, and the children have a greater chance of being neglected or abused, dropping out of school, becoming teen parents themselves and living in poverty as adults, studies show. 
Although the U.S. rates remain <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45184">higher than</a> in other wealthy countries, the plummeting number of teen births&nbsp;has quietly become a major public health success. 
Nationwide, more than 25% of 15-year-old girls in 1991 gave birth at some point before they turned 20 — compared with 6% in 2021, according to estimates based on <a href="https://www.childtrends.org/publications/teen-births-have-declined-by-more-than-three-quarters-since-1991">federal data</a> by Child Trends, a Maryland-based nonprofit that researches issues affecting children, youth and families. 
About three-quarters of births to teenagers are unintended, so increased access to contraception — and knowledge about it — is a key factor, said Jennifer Manlove, co-author of the report and a senior research scholar on sexual and reproductive health at Child Trends. 
The seven states with the highest rates are in the South, where&nbsp;there’s often an abstinence-only approach in schools, which typically means no discussion of contraception, she said.&nbsp;The result is that when teens have sex, they’re less likely to use birth control, Manlove said. Birth control also is less available to teens in much of the South, she said. 
In New York, which has the ninth lowest rate, more than 90% of high schools&nbsp;and more than 60% of middle schools&nbsp;had classes in which contraception was discussed in 2020,&nbsp;according to a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/school-health-profiles/media/pdf/CDC-Profiles-2020.pdf">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey</a>. The other states with the lowest birth rates also are in the Northeast, plus Minnesota. 
Avoiding pregnancy is not just about understanding basic sex education, but also giving teens tools, like how to say "no"&nbsp;if they don't want to have sex, said Dr. Allison Eliscu, chief of adolescent medicine at Stony Brook Children's Hospital and head of a program that sends health educators into Long Island schools, libraries and group homes. 
“It's also how to negotiate complicated discussions with a partner, like ‘I want my partner to use a condom, but they don't want to,’ or how to understand what a safe relationship is," Eliscu said. 
In New York, minors can obtain birth control without parental consent, including at clinics that offer it for free. The state also has a program that <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/program/longterm/familyplanbenprog.htm ">provides birth control</a>&nbsp;for low-income teens. And since 2012, the Affordable Care Act has required most insurance plans to cover birth control with no copays. 
The growing use of IUDs and contraceptive implants among teens has reduced the risk of pregnancy, Eliscu said.&nbsp;Intrauterine devices and implants are more effective&nbsp;than birth control pills and condoms, which often are used incorrectly or inconsistently. 
Fewer than 6% of females 15 to 19 had used an IUD or implant in 2011-15, versus <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr196.pdf">more than 19%</a> in 2015-19, a federal report said. 
Teenagers also may be having less sex. Two federal surveys&nbsp;indicate that the percentage of teenagers engaging in sexual activity has been declining, although in one of those surveys, the decline among teen girls was not considered statistically significant. 
“Teens in this generation are spending time on their phones, they're doing less activities in person, and that affects their relationships and behaviors,” Manlove said. 
More people attend college than in the past, and teens who go to college are less likely to get pregnant than those who don’t, in part because they usually have more long-term career goals that they don’t want parenting to interrupt, said Jennifer Barber, a sociology professor at Indiana University and a senior scientist at the university’s Kinsey Institute, which studies sex and relationships. 
As the average age of a first birth <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK615815/#:~:text=This%20report%20also%20found%20that,for%20U.S.%20families%20(13) ">has steadily risen</a>&nbsp;over the past few decades, “the norm, that sense of feeling when it’s appropriate to have children, has changed over time,” Manlove said. 
<h3>Abortion bans' impact</h3> 
It’s still too early to fully measure the effect of abortion bans on teen birth rates, but in states that have greatly restricted or prohibited abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision&nbsp;allowing such bans, “there’s no way it’s not going to go up,” Barber said. 
The decline in teen birth rates has not been driven by abortions, which also have declined precipitously over the past few decades, Manlove said. 
Pregnancy and birth rates have fallen across all adolescent racial and ethnic groups. But they remain much higher among <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45184">low-income teens</a>, and Black, Latino and Native American teens, and in rural areas, federal data shows. In New York, rates are highest in some rural counties upstate, and they're lower on Long Island than the rest of the state. 
On Long Island, the highest numbers are in communities that are majority Black and Hispanic, and that have lower median incomes and educational attainment, a Newsday analysis of state Health Department data shows. But pregnancy and birth rates have fallen — usually steeply — in almost every Long Island ZIP code between 2007-09 and 2020-2022, data shows. <a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/c06448e4-d2c8-40ad-8bbc-fa2f065eca16" data-onecms-type="storywidget" data-subtype="htmlBlurb" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/c06448e4-d2c8-40ad-8bbc-fa2f065eca16', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/c06448e4-d2c8-40ad-8bbc-fa2f065eca16">STORYWIDGET: LITEENBIRTH_map</a> 
ZIP code 11798, in Wyandanch, had Long Island’s highest teenage birth rate — 31 births per 1,000 teenage girls and women in 2020-22 — followed by ZIP codes centered in Riverhead, Hempstead, Central Islip and Roosevelt, state data shows. 
<h3>Trust in health care</h3> 
People with lower incomes have less access to health care and tend to live in areas with fewer services, and Black girls and women in particular often distrust the health care system&nbsp;because of past and present discrimination and less-respectful treatment from providers, Barber said. 
That leads to fewer conversations about contraception with health care providers, and less trust in what they recommend, Manlove said. 
In addition, in any community where teenage parenthood is more common, teens are more likely to view it as an option,&nbsp;Eliscu said. 
Uniondale, where Benavides lives, has a&nbsp;birth rate more than double the rest of Nassau’s.&nbsp; 
Benavides said she&nbsp;never talked to her doctor about contraception and didn’t know that minors could obtain birth control pills. And she never talked with her boyfriend at the time about contraception. 
“We were both just in love, young, stupid, I can say — like we never had the thought about taking care of ourselves while having intercourse,” Benavides said. "It's just we never talked about it.” 
The effects of giving birth at 17 have rippled throughout Benavides' life. She&nbsp;still wants to become a lawyer — or possibly a dentist — but her priority now is caring for Tatiana. 
After graduating from Uniondale High School, she earned a dental assistant certification at a trade school that she found with the help of&nbsp;a Nassau County-funded Family &amp; Children’s Association program for teen moms. 
The program also links young mothers with clinics where they can receive free or affordable contraception — to prevent further pregnancies — and helps them with parenting skills, said Chasity Matos, the program’s coordinator. 
Benavides worked for two years as a dental assistant. She left the job in September so she could study full time at Nassau Community College in preparation for transferring to a four-year college to obtain a dental hygiene degree. She works part time at a Dunkin’ and saves money by living with her parents. 
Juggling work, college and being a mom is a challenge, she said, but she wants a career that will earn her enough money to help her parents in Uniondale and her grandmother in El Salvador, and to give Tatiana the best life possible.

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Teen birth rates have plummeted on Long Island and in the U.S. Here's why.

Why teen birth rates have plummeted on LI and in the U.S.

AIAudio - Teen birth rates have plummeted on Long Island and in the U.S. Here's why.


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One young Long Island mother said getting pregnant at 16 has meant putting off plans to go to law school.

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LI teen birth rates plummet

A teen mom, dreams deferred

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