In Forefront this week, Next City Fellow Allyn Gaestel tells the story of two Philadelphia mothers — one living in Center City, the other in North Philly — to see how the stark gap in maternal health and infant care plays out for urban parents.

Ocasio was a 10th-grader at Thomas Alva Edison High School when she became pregnant. The North Philadelphia school is notorious for violence. In 2011 it graduated fewer students on time than any school in Philadelphia, with only 38 percent matriculating in four years, Department of Education data shows. “It’s bad,” Ocasio said. “Not as bad as you hear, but it’s bad.”

Her pregnancy wasn’t out of place in Edison’s classrooms. “There were so many pregnant girls,” Ocasio said. But still, she left the school before she started really showing.

This year, Ocasio started taking courses online so she can stay home with Jesus, Jr. A calm baby, he fusses only when hungry or wet, and sports fashionable baby wear passed down from his older cousins. Ocasio talks like the new mom she is, explaining how Jesus’ outfit fits him, even though it’s size six months, “because Children’s Place runs small.” She said his Air Jordan baby booties were just one in a collection of fashionable footwear gifted or handed down.

Ocasio and Jesus split their time between her grandparents’ home on Allegheny and the house her boyfriend’s father gave them to live with the baby in Kensington. Jesus Gillermo Oyola is a doting father — in a brief visit he honed in on the infant, smothering him with kisses and repeating, “this is my baby, I’m crazy for him, if I’m not around him I stress about him.” But already there’s pressure in the relationship. “We try to keep it together for the baby,” Ocasio said.

Her boyfriend, now 22, has never had a job during their relationship. He used to receive Social Security, but that recently got cut. With their 3-month-old to feed, Ocasio has been trying to add employment to her mounting list of responsibilities. “I applied for so many jobs, I don’t even know who else to apply to.” She got called back for one interview, but later found out she didn’t get the position.

For now she’s scraping by with help from her family, eating easy-to-prepare instant foods she can pick up on the cheap at the corner store, or meals home cooked by her grandma. “My grandmother’s the one that helps me out,” she said.

Ocasio’s daily concerns look very different than the ones borne by the Poors across town.

For Katie Poor, motherhood is a balancing act between years of training, residencies and work, but one that is going smoothly. The couple planned to have its first child when she finished her fellowship, before starting work. “It was ridiculous how well it turned out,” she said. Evelyn was born on the day of her graduation, so she missed the ceremony. Within two months she had started working part time.

Still, keeping everything going has been tough, especially with Alex’s grueling schedule at the hospital. “I have so much respect for single moms,” Katie said as she remembered when Alex had a residency in New Jersey and would spend days away from home. But Evelyn is a positive and calm baby and Katie loves parenting, especially in the city. Her “get out of the house” routine includes walking Evelyn to the recently renovated Sister Cities Park at the edge of the parkway and strolling with her around the city.

“She’s probably been out to brunch more than my husband,” Katie said laughingly. “We’ve got the Bjorn, I have the Moby wrap, we have strollers, we have so many ways to wrap the baby up and get her out. Taking her outside and walking around everyday was a big part of my recovery.”

From Poor’s perspective, Philadelphia is becoming more and more pedestrian-friendly, and she thinks where she lives may be the most walkable part of the city. The park has fountains for kids to play in and a modern café. Logan Circle is nearby and Whole Foods, where she buys organic baby food for Evelyn, is just a few blocks down the green parkway.

Like Ocasio, the Poors depend on family support. When Katie first went back to work part time, Evelyn’s two grandmothers would babysit, sending photos throughout the day. Now Evelyn goes to the Friends Child Care Center, a Quaker daycare a block away from her home. The Poors signed up as soon as Katie got pregnant. Getting a space was no problem.

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