Description
Family Nurse Partnership is a voluntary home visiting programme for first time young mothers (and fathers) aged 19 or under. A specially trained family nurse visits the young mother regularly, from early in pregnancy until the child is two.
Read more below or watch the video to find out more about the service.
Family nurses work with young mothers and fathers to enable them to:
- build positive relationships with their baby and understand their baby’s needs
- make the lifestyle choices that will give their child the best possible start in life
- build their self-efficacy (belief and ability to plan and achieve their goals)
- build positive relationships with others, modelled by building a positive relationship with the family nurse
Family nurses will regularly visit clients at home (every 1 – 2 weeks) from early in pregnancy until their child is two years old. Home visits usually last between an hour and an hour and a half.
The family nurse will share ideas with clients and decide together which topic would be most helpful for each visit. Example topics for home visits include:
- keeping healthy in pregnancy
- preparing for labour
- supporting their baby to grow and learn
- planning to meet their life goals
The programme goals are to:
- improve pregnancy outcomes
- improve child health and development and future school readiness and achievement
- improve parents’ economic self-sufficiency