North Lanarkshire now has eight new family support workers dedicated to providing an extra layer of support and advice to mums with a new baby.

Working as part of Health Visiting Teams, family support workers engage with new parents and provide guidance to support infant feeding and care of their baby.

They work to Baby Friendly Standards with the aim of building and strengthening the confidence of new parents getting to know and bond with their baby.

Run by Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire, the dedicated team will make contact with all new mums in North Lanarkshire, apart from those already linked in with the Family Nurse Partnership of First Steps workers.

Carrie McCulloch, associate nurse director, children’s services, health & social care North Lanarkshire, said: “It’s great to have our new family support workers join the service.

“We’re dedicated to giving children in North Lanarkshire the best possible start in life and I know our eight new team members will make a positive impact on the lives of new families.”

She added: “They will play a valuable role in supporting mums and their babies across North Lanarkshire’s communities.

“They are committed to supporting interaction between new babies and their families which is known to positively influence maternal and infant mental health.

“Importantly, the team has the flexibility to devote additional time to families, sharing essential parenting skills like breast and bottle feeding techniques, preparing bottles, as well as basic baby care.”

Midwives or health visitors retain ultimate responsibility for care and task delegation at all times.

The family support workers complement their work, focusing on strengthening responsive and affectionate parent-child relationships, enhancing breastfeeding rates, promoting attentive bottle feeding, and reducing common feeding issues that typically necessitate GP intervention and prescribing.

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Leanne Woodman, one of the new family support workers based in the Bellshill and Viewpark locality, said: “This is an exciting new role as we’ll be supporting midwives and health visitors with the care and support they provide.

“As a team, we’re committed to assisting new mums with any concerns they have - our visits are designed to give them confidence and share advice that will help them and their baby flourish.

She added: “We’ll be helping with feeding and areas of infant care ranging from bathing and changing nappies.

“We’re all here to give children the best start in life and are dedicated to getting it right for every child.”