First-time mothers to get parenting help

A scheme that provides teenage mothers with one-on-one home visits from nurses will be extended, the First Minister has announced.

Up to 60 extra nurses are to be recruited nationwide by the end of next year as the Family Nurse Partnership is rolled out.

Under the scheme, young first-time mothers receive frequent visits from early pregnancy until their child’s second birthday.

Nurses offer advice and support on a range of issues from parenting skills and breastfeeding to health and diet.

More than 4,500 young mothers have taken part in the scheme, with more than 2,500 having completed the programme since it start- ed in 2010. Nicola Sturgeon announced the expansion in Dundee at an event to celebrate NHS Tayside having supported more than 1,000 young women through the partnership since 2011.

She said: “We want to make Scotland the best country in the world to grow up in. A key part of that is ensuring all children, regardless of background, have the best possible start in life.

“The Family Nurse Partnership has helped thousands of children and first-time mums across Scotland.

“Events, like this one in Dundee, demonstrate the positive impact that family nurses can have on the families they work with.”

The expansion will bring the annual cost of the programme to about £16 million a year when fully rolled out.