The Minns Labor Government is supporting healthy child-caregiver connections within families and delivering holistic support for new parents impacted by psychological distress or trauma in Sydney and the Mid-North Coast.
The new Nurturing Connections program has benefited from a $3.34 million investment for its first year of service delivery in three areas across the state.
Launching at Kempsey, Hurstville and North Ryde, the therapeutic program is designed to help families who are pregnant or have an infant or young child (aged 0-4 years) and are experiencing psychological distress, trauma, or social adversity that impacts their relationship with their child.
The Nurturing Connections program will be delivered by the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service's multidisciplinary team, including perinatal and infant mental health workers, psychiatrists, allied health professionals, peer workers, Aboriginal mental health workers, and child and family health professionals.
The teams will also partner with local non-government organisations (NGOs) who will provide integrated social and welfare support in partnership with the Nurturing Connections team.
The program is due to benefit up to 120 families and is inclusive of fathers, caregivers and gender-diverse families as well as mothers and their children.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson:
"Mental health and new parenthood have important linkages - around 1 in 5 mothers experience symptoms of anxiety and depression during pregnancy or after birth, and some experience more serious and ongoing perinatal mental health disorders.
"We also recognise that parents and caregivers of all genders and backgrounds can have pre-existing trauma and complex mental health conditions which may impact their early parent-child relationships.
"Nurturing Connections aims to provide holistic support to address these mental health challenges, supporting better social outcomes and healthier relationships within families.
"This unique program doesn't just help parents, but can also boost the child's emotional wellbeing, providing integrated child and family health services and access to early childhood care and education."
Quotes attributable for Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"The Nurturing Connections program recognises that some families require more intensive, layered services than what is already available.
"Kicking off in three locations in across Sydney and the Mid-North Coast, the program offers additional support for caregivers with complex mental health needs, so they will feel more confident in their parenting and more resilient to managing life's challenges.
"Holistic, multidisciplinary teams will combine mental health care, relationship support, child wellbeing and social support services into a single program, designed to reach out to vulnerable families and reduce any stigma, barriers or fears they may have in accessing this care."
