Support to young mothers, fathers and their family integrating love and education.
Raising a healthy child starts with a healthy pregnancy, and educating young mothers, fathers and any significant others through pregnancy and childbirth has an important positive impact on the health of the mother, and on the ongoing development of her baby. At St. Leonard’s, we understand that 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 mothers and fathers experience a healthy pregnancy and to provide them with the education and support they need to prepare for childbirth and raising their children.
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 offers 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
Providing young mothers and fathers with the information to understand the emotional and physical changes that come with pregnancy and childbirth can help contribute to the development of a healthy baby. SMILE staff work closely with young mothers to help them understand the changes they are experiencing and to prepare them for the birth of their child.
How SMILE Can Help
SMILE aims to help young mothers and fathers gain the skills and knowledge they need to have a healthy pregnancy and to care for their children. The program teaches parenting and life skills and helps build an understanding of child development among young mothers.
Through SMILE, young mothers and fathers learn the role that nurturing plays in positive human development, and the vital role they can play in promoting the healthy development of their child. They also learn that experiences in early childhood can have a significant impact on a child’s incentive and motivation to learn and succeed later in life. SMILE helps young mothers gain a set of skills to prepare them for the role as their baby's first teacher.
SMILE provides young mothers and fathers with the opportunity to:
- 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
Participation
Each year, SMILE helps more than 50 young mothers and fathers and their significant support people from Burnaby. 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 Mininistry of Children and Family Development or other social service and health care professionals.
In order to participate in SMILE, a completed registration form must be submitted. Please contact us at smile@stleo.ca or telephone 604-298-6245 to obtain a registration form for the program. The program is located at #103 - 3993 Henning Drive, Burnaby, BC (close to the Gilmore Skytrain station).
Funding for this program is provided by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.