Public Health parenting supports
The early days, weeks and months following the birth of a new baby is a time of adjustment for most families. A Public Health Nurse may connect with you and your family in hospital or at home after birth to talk about supports you may want or need and link you with community supports and resources.
Your local Public Health Office can also give you information about postpartum supports and services in your community.
You can also contact 211 Nova Scotia. This referral service is free and confidential and links you with a variety of programs and services in your community that meet your needs. You can access the service by phone, online, or text. For example, searching “prenatal and parenting” will show you which organizations offer supports, programs, and services taking place near you and how you can contact them to learn more.
Call 8-1-1 or visit their website if you are looking for information and advice about health from a Registered Nurse, have a concern about your health, or want to know about services in your area. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Feeding your baby
Regardless of how you are feeding your baby it is common for questions to come up as you develop your new relationship and learn to respond to your babies' feeding cues.
Information on breastfeeding can be found in our Breastfeeding Basics booklet (.pdf) and on the La Leche League Canada website. There you can access helplines across the country, ask questions online, search for a leader in your province and share your feeding and parenting stories with others.
Infant Formula: What You Need to Know (.pdf) has been developed for parents who have made an informed decision to feed their baby with infant formula. It tells you what you need to know to feed your baby safely.
Do you have questions about how to feed your baby? Contact Public Health, your health care provider or family resource centre.
Home visiting program
Welcoming a new baby into the world can be an exciting time. It can also be challenging, especially when we live alone or in a remote area, or are worried about money, transportation or housing.
Public Health offers a home visiting program that provides extra support to families facing challenges through in-home visits. Families may receive home visiting support for up to three years and/or referral to other health and community resources.
Watch a video on our home visiting program here.
Loving Care books
Loving Care is a series of books for parents of children up to three years old. Loving Care gives tools to help young families protect, promote or improve their health and to prevent illness, injury or disability.
These books have been developed to help parents to better recognize and build on their own strengths as parents.
Loving Care books (Birth to Six Months and Parents and Families) are given to all parents in Nova Scotia free of charge from Public Health.
They are available in downloadable PDF below:
Learn more
Whether you are currently pregnant or adjusting to life as a parent, there's a lot to learn and it can be challenging to know where to get credible information. A list of resources can be found here to help support you during these times.
You can always contact your local Public Health Office at any time during pregnancy and parenthood. We are here for you and your family.
