SMILE for young parents – Supporting young mothers, fathers, and their family with love and education.
Raising a healthy child starts with a healthy pregnancy. Having a baby is a life-changing experience and that everyone needs support to become a nurturing and responsible parent. That’s why we started the SMILE program: to help young parents experience a healthy pregnancy and to provide the education and support a young parent needs to prepare for childbirth and raising their child(ren).
The SMILE program builds on the personal strengths of young mothers and fathers to help them develop confidence in their ability to become a good parent.
SMILE for young mothers:
- Pre-natal and birth preparation classes
- Pregnancy testing
- Family counseling services
- A lending library of books, videos and other parenting resources
- Connection to additional support systems in the community
- Midwifery appointments provided on site
SMILE for young parents:
- Learn about the development of life from conception to birth
- Learn the essentials of pregnancy care, pregnancy fitness, nutrition, labour, birth, breast feeding, and newborn care
- Connect to a support network to share and understand the emotional and physical changes they are experiencing during pregnancy
- Learn about the importance of early childhood education and care
- Learn parenting skills
- Discuss changing family dynamics and relationships
- Learn about the importance of health care and how to access the services they need
- Learn about basic life skills such as time management, stress management and budgeting
Each year, SMILE helps more than 50 young mothers and fathers from Burnaby and New Westminster. Participants come to the program in a variety of ways. Some enroll themselves or are referred by friends, while other participants are referred by the Ministry of Children and Family Development or other social service and health care professionals.
To register:
Please contact us at smile@stleo.ca or telephone 604-298-6245 to obtain a registration form for the program. The program is located in Burnaby near the Gilmore Skytrain Station.
Funding for this program is provided by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.