MANKATO — For Teresa Freitag, it’s all about the babies.
A Blue Earth County social worker and First Steps coordinator, Freitag works with pregnant women and cheers when it’s time to welcome their baby into the mix.
“I love working with a mom throughout her entire pregnancy and getting to meet that baby at the end,” she said. “It’s usually very fun for the moms to bring their babies and show them off. And it’s wonderful for me to meet that little person who we’ve spent months talking about.”
Freitag was recently one of three people honored with the annual Betty Hubbard Maternal and Child Health Leadership Award for 2025 by the Minnesota Department of Health. The award recognizes people and organizations in Minnesota who are making significant contributions to supporting good health for mothers and children.
Freitag received the award for her work serving children and parents in the Mankato region.
She has a 22-year history with Blue Earth County Human Services, starting her tenure in the adult mental health unit. In fall of 2012, she joined public health as the coordinator of the First Steps program — a collaboration between the Greater Mankato Area United Way, Mankato Clinic Foundation and Blue Earth County to support healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
Freitag is based at the Mankato Clinic, where Kayla Skroch, licensed practical nurse in the obstetrics and gynecology department, said she’s a valuable resource.
“I can walk down the hall at any time and ask her questions and give her referrals,” Skroch said. “She’s always willing to help. She can connect patients to any resources they might need. If she doesn’t know what resources they might need, she can figure it out.”
She said Freitag has “improved the lives of many of the moms we take care of. Many of those moms wouldn’t have stable housing, wouldn’t be able to feed their families or take their babies home, in some cases, without her assistance. This program isn’t a job for Teresa. It’s her legacy.”
Freitag is the first and only First Steps coordinator. In 2024, she supported a caseload of more than 160 clients, ensuring expecting parents received timely guidance and access to resources. Under her coordination, First Steps has partnered with 20 counties and 50 community organizations, creating a strong, collaborative network that helps families navigate services.
“I like to describe my work as walking side by side with a pregnant woman,” Freitag said. “I provide them with support, education and connections to resources as they get ready to welcome a new member into their family.
“The program is very individualized. If a family is homeless, we work on finding housing along with parenting and getting ready for their baby. If they need mental health support, I make referrals. It’s about talking with pregnant women and families about where they’re currently at in their life and where they would like to be.”
For each of her patients, she provides a “base level” of education around pregnancy and how to care for a baby, she said. She also helps many patients figure out how their insurance works.
She said she sees herself as a bridge for her patients.
“I help bridge people from the medical system to the county system to the community at large,” she said. “It’s my belief that if all of these systems are active and working together with a family that needs that level of service, then that is a wonderful investment.”
Emma Fager of Mankato is a former patient of Freitag’s and raves about her. Fager was a first-time, young mom whose Mankato Clinic doctor referred her to Freitag.
Scared and nervous at first, Fager soon found comfort in Freitag’s approach to helping her.
“It was so, so wonderful,” Fager said. “She was so helpful and encouraging. I wouldn’t have been able to get through and get to where I am now without the motivation boost from Teresa.”
At the time, Fager was pregnant with her first child, Kylie, now 11 years old, and was living with her parents and working at Walmart. Now she’s a college graduate and a nurse at Mankato Clinic.
Freitag helped her get insurance and taught her everything she needed to know about infant care.
“She was very good at motivating me and was very positive, saying ‘You can do this. You got yourself into this, but you’re going to be a great mom. You can thrive,’” Fager said.
Asked if she would recommend Freitag to other pregnant women, Fager said she definitely would.
“Teresa is amazing and the First Steps program is amazing,” she said. “She goes above and beyond for her patients. She’s also kind of like a psychologist and she’s a good listener. She will do anything she can to help you achieve your goals and get resources working for you.
“She’s such a good motivator and she truly cares about her patients. It’s not just a job for her. It’s her life. She has worked so hard to get to where she is today.”