Healthy Growth & Development

Healthy Babies, Healthy Children

The Healthy Babies Healthy Children program is a free, voluntary home visiting program for families, from pregnancy until the child goes to school. The program supports pregnant moms, their partners, and their families.

One-on-One Nurse Support

Free telephone or in-person support is available to all families and caregivers of babies, to help with infant feeding, parenting questions, community support and resources. To speak to a Public Health Nurse about caring for yourself or your baby call: 519.426.6170 or 905.318.6623 Ext. 3250

Well Baby & Breastfeeding Drop-Ins

Public Health Nurses facilitate free drop-in programs, in partnership with local EarlyON centres.

Parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers are all welcome. It is an opportunity to connect with other families, EarlyON staff and talk to a Public Health Nurse about:

• Breastfeeding and infant feeding
• Infant growth and development
• Healthy eating, including the introduction to solids
• Parenting strategies
• Child safety and sleep questions
• Care of mother and mental health screening
• Community resources and referrals

For more info, including clinic times and locations, please visit Well Baby Clinics 

Prenatal Classes

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit offers a combination of in-person and online prenatal classes.

For more information about classes, including dates and fees, please visit Prenatal Classes

Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI)

The Baby-Friendly Initiative is a global effort to implement practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding. The initiative encourages health services to provide encouragement and support for mothers to help them start and continue breastfeeding.

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit has received a Baby-Friendly designation.

For parents using Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit services, this means you can expect us to:

• Provide information to help you decide how to feed your baby
• Offer services to your family whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding your baby
• Support you to breastfeed for as long as you choose
• Welcome breastfeeding in all areas where we provide services and will provide a quiet space for breastfeeding if you would like one