Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies, Whitehorse, Yukon

Skookum Jim Friendship Centre’s Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Program strives to support the women of Whitehorse, Yukon in having a healthy and happy pregnancy. Since 1994, the project has been offering its support to mainly urban, Aboriginal prenatal and postnatal women. The project is held in the Friendship Centre, along with other programs such as; the Traditional Parenting Program, the Tan Sakwathan Youth Diversion Program, the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre, the Recreation Program, and a Pre-Employment Program. These community-based programs, along with government agencies in the community, generously offer support to Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies in the form of shared resources and funding.

Situated in the heart of Whitehorse, Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies provides a variety of services such as advocacy, referrals, counselling, weekly drop-in sessions, home visits, and dietary assessments/nutritional counselling - all aimed at promoting and supporting the health of women throughout their pregnancies, and women with babies up to the age of 6 months old. A comforting atmosphere is created with couches for nursing, toys for the children to play with, and a well-equipped resource library. Connie Epp, who is the project coordinator and a trained social worker, makes sure the participants feel welcome and at ease by building a strong rapport with them and taking a client-centred approach.

Due to increasing popularity over the past year, drop-in sessions have increased from bi-weekly to weekly sessions. Connie says that participants enjoy the project so much that “exiting the project is the saddest part for participants and myself.” Many of the participants are socially isolated because they may not have a partner or they lack support from family and friends. Feeling alone and isolated plays a role in some of the women abusing alcohol and drugs. Women who access services may be victims of violence or abuse. Given the difficulties some women face, Connie often extends participation when at all possible.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies has become a refuge where women can escape their troubles and find comfort in others who may share similar experiences. Connie explains, “The participants enjoy coming here because they create bonds with other women and it becomes their place.” A current project participant says that she appreciates the project because it offers “time to relax and talk to other mothers and compare different things our babies are doing.”

Connie facilitates much of the programming, but often invites guest speakers such as elders, nurses, dietitians, and community agency representatives to come in and present on a variety of topics such as birth control, infant care, self-care, etc. Participants especially enjoy listening to the elders share their experiences of traditional childbirth and parenting. Cultural awareness is also provided through educational games such as native foods bingo.

The main focus of the project is about healthy eating. Participants are offered information on cooking, budgeting, and food preparation and proper food storage. Tasty nutritious snacks are available to participants at each session and community kitchens are often offered at drop-in sessions. To make healthy eating more accessible, participants facing financial difficulties receive a $25 food voucher when attending sessions. The voucher provides each woman with fruit, vegetables, bread, and dairy products. Prenatal vitamin supplements are also provided to women who need their diets supplemented. Upon request, Connie will bring the women to the grocery store for some hands-on learning. In addition to nutritional assistance, two community health nurses attend every other session to answer questions and start “baby diaries” with the mothers to track their babies’ development. The nurses also give presentations on topics such as healthy eating, birth control options, breast feeding, and healthy relationships to name a few.

One truly inspirational aspect of this project is how personalized the service is. Before each session, Connie calls participants to find out if they need transportation to the Centre; bus tickets are given to those who do. Second, Connie tailors the programming to participants’ needs by always asking them what they would like to learn about next. Connie also visits the hospital to give mothers and their newborns a gift, drives women to their doctor’s appointments, and makes home visits if help is needed. The project has an “open door” policy so that women can drop in whenever they want. Often women drop in for emotional support on a one-to-one basis or to access the program’s resource library.

The project’s success is reflected through its participants’ achievements. There has been no sign of drug or alcohol abuse and birth weights have been healthy. The breastfeeding rate is 99% among the project participants, which is not surprising considering the Yukon wins Canada’s Breast Feeding Challenge year after year. “I continually encourage all women to breast feed because of the many benefits it offers,” says Connie, who networks with the La Leche League to promote breast feeding”.

When asked about the rewards of working within such an influential project, Connie replies: “Providing support is intrinsically rewarding because so many young mothers enter the door and I develop a relationship with them. I have the pleasure of watching them grow, watching them learn, and I help them make healthy lifestyle choices. As one Elder so eloquently put it; a baby is truly a gift from the Creator”. It is with Connie’s big heart and commitment that this project has been so successful in motivating women to make positive life changes throughout their pregnancy and beyond.