Parents are their child’s first and most influential teachers. Welcome Home Baby helps them provide their child with a strong start in life. It is a gateway for families of newborns to access a wide variety of early childhood services and information.
How does it work? New parents are introduced to Welcome Home Baby in the hospital, typically a day after the birth of their baby. They are offered a visit from a nurse who will meet with them in their home a few days later. The nurse visit is an ideal opportunity for parents to have their questions answered in the comfort of their own home. Learning how to care for a baby takes time and practice; Welcome Home Baby helps ease the transition into parenthood.
During the home visit, the nurse:
- Checks on the health of the baby and mother.
- Answers questions about everything from how to feed a baby to how to find quality child care.
- Shares information about parenting and child health, development and safety.
- Links families to helpful services in the community, if needed and desired.
- Connects the baby and family to their medical home (pediatrician or family doctor) and makes sure the first appointment is scheduled.
- Delivers a gift bag full of information and equipment, including a DVD with tips to help soothe a baby, a book from the local library, and a special “Welcome Home Baby Book” to help parents learn more abut their child’s development.
Welcome Home Baby is available to ALL first-time parents and parents 25 & younger in Kent County. There is NO COST to families who choose to be part of the program.
Eligible parents who have their baby at Metro Health, Saint Mary’s Health Care or Spectrum Health will be offered Welcome Home Baby services in the hospital. Welcome Home Baby also is available to adoptive parents or those who have their babies at home or outside of Kent County.
Welcome Home Baby is a collaborative effort involving all three of the major hospital systems, the Kent Intermediate School District, Kent County government and numerous human service agencies. Referral partners include: Bright Beginnings, Connections, Early Head Start, Early On, Encouraging Family Foundations, Infant Toddler Program, Inter-Tribal Council, Kent County Healthy Start, Maternal Infant Health Program–Cherry Street Health Services, Maternal Infant Health Program–Kent County Health Department, Moms Bloom, Spectrum MOMS and Strong Beginnings.
For more information about Welcome Home Baby, please contact Maureen Kirkwood, Director of Health Initiatives or Bonnie Rencher, Clinical Nurse Manager. The fax number for Welcome Home Baby is 616-632-1006.