The Nurture Programme

Nurture pull up pregnantThe Nurture Programme – Infant Health and Wellbeing, launched on the 23rd May 2016, is a partnership between the Health Service Executive, Atlantic Philanthropies, Katharine Howard Foundation and Centre for Effective Services.

It is a programme of work which builds on the existing child health programme, strengthening a cohesive, integrated child health and wellbeing service for children aged 0-2 years and their families. The aim of the programme is to support parents and healthcare professionals in their caring and service provisions to give each baby the best start in life - we want to make every contact count. You can find further background information at www.hse.ie/nurtureprogramme

Over the next two to three years The Nurture Programme - Infant Health and Wellbeing will:

  • Develop a new parenting and child health website, for parents and for healthcare staff. This will be the trusted source for all health and wellbeing information that parents, and health care professionals, need.
  • Provide information and advice to people planning to get pregnant so that they can give their child the best start in life.
  • Add to the existing suite of Caring for your Baby and Child books and website, creating a new Healthy Pregnancy book and online content.
  • Develop standards for antenatal education and resources to support their delivery.
  • Provide universal access to the Child Safety Awareness Programme to guard against accidental deaths and unintentional injuries to babies and infants.
  • Provide training for practitioners to identify when a parent needs additional support, advice or information and access to effective referral pathways to specialist services when needed.
  • Promote Infant Mental Health, covering topics like bonding with baby, parent-child communications and supporting baby’s early learning and development.
  • Support the roll-out of a parent-held child health record.
  • Provide additional supports to mothers to breastfeed whenever possible.

Visit www.hse.ie/nurtureprogramme to find out more about the programme.