Sudbury's 'Baby's Breath' program for teen moms marks a decade

At 14 years old, Sandra Ramalho looked at her newborn son and decided she needed some help. 

"I was a single parent, trying to complete high school," she said. "I didn't have very much family support."

Dumped by her boyfriend when she refused an abortion, Ramalho said she felt frightened and alone — and the stigma of being a teen mom made things even worse. 

"It was really hard to even walk down the street, or to buy diapers or formula or anything," she said.

"Everybody gave me dirty looks and criticized me and said that I wouldn't become a proper parent to my son, so it was hard."   

Ramalho decided to bundle up her new baby boy and get some help. She signed up to be the first client of Sudbury's "Baby's Breath" program. 

Stepping up

It was there that Ramalho met Johanne Thompson, a woman who would change her life forever.

Thompson is the program manager for Better Beginnings Better Futures. A decade ago, she started Baby's Breath when she noticed that young mothers in the city seemed to be outcast and alone. 

"Teen moms were very intimidated [by mainstream parenting groups]," she said. "They felt judged, and they were very isolated because of their ages."

Thompson said there was a clear need for a space where mothers under the age of 18 in Sudbury could go for peer-to-peer support and guidance.

Today, the Baby's Breath program helps young moms with a meal at each visit, bus tickets, and a place free from judgement. 

I always knew that I was going to become something.- Sandra Ramalho

"These young moms are in our program because they are stepping up," she said. "They want to raise a happy, healthy well-rounded child." 

"They learn [in the group], they play with their babies. The environment is caring and loving for them, I think," said Thompson.  

Ramalho said her decision to join the program was invaluable. 

"I turned to Johanne to basically learn how to parent and learn all the skills that I needed to raise my son."

Ramalho and Thompson worked together for months while the teen was finding her feet as a young, single parent — and it seems to have worked. 

Now 24, Ramalho said she completed high school on schedule, and went on the graduate from college with honours. Her first son is now 11 and she now has three other children with her husband.

"I always knew that I was going to become something. I never let the stereotypes get a hold of me."

"It was a little bit harder to get [here]," she said. "But I am where I am today and I'm proud of it."