Special event for teen mum service
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AN NHS service that supports first-time teenage parents in Halton has celebrated its third anniversary with events at Kingsway and Halton Lodge children’s centres in Widnes and Runcorn respectively.
Staff and families were invited along to mark three years of The Family Nurse Partnership, which is provided in the borough by Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Halton Borough Council.
The programme, for first-time mothers under the age of 20, offers intensive home visiting every week or fortnight from early pregnancy until the child is two.
It aims to boost the health of mothers and ● babies during and after their maternity and offers advice and information on topics from child health and development to employment and finance.
Therese Woods, Family Nurse Partnership supervisor for Halton, said: “Over the past three years, our hard-working team of four nurses, supported by an administrator and a supervisor, have supported approximately 120 young families in Runcorn and Widnes and we are currently working with 96 young parents in the borough as part of the programme.
“We know that becoming a parent for the first time can be a daunting prospect so we aim to offer both practical and emotional support to anyone coming into our service.
“We support expectant mums to have a healthy pregnancy and we provide non-judgmental advice and support on child health and development as well as on matters such as finance, jobs and housing so children can get the best possible start in life.
“We are delighted to be able to celebrate the success of the service at the celebration events with our hard working staff, supportive colleagues at the children’s centres and some of the amazing local families we have worked with over the past three years.”
Sophie Roberts, 19, of Widnes, attended the party with her daughter Poppy.
She said: “We really enjoyed the celebration event.
“I’m very happy to be part of the family nurse partnership as it has given me the confidence to bring up my daughter with no worries.
“It is also a great help to have someone there to give me advice and to answer any questions.“
Find out more by visiting Bridgewater NHS’s website.