Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco

6 Spots You May Have Missed While ChildProofing

To help parents remember important steps to keep their kids safe, Safe Kids and Tide developed a new interactive graphic focusing on a range of risks in the home.

This 360-degree graphic takes you inside a toddler’s home to show some of the issues parents may have missed when trying to make their home safer for young children, including proper storage of laundry packets.

6 Spots You May Have Missed While ChildProofing Done childproofing? Use this interactive 360 view to see some potential places that you many missed in your home.

New Healthy Start participants get a chance to win an Evenflo Infant Carrier!

Each week you will see the raffle winning number here!

Friday, August 16, the winner is: MA276
Friday, August 23, the winner is: LR482
Friday, August 9, the winner is: MA273
Friday, August 2, the winner is: MA274

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Healthy Start provides special programs and local resources for moms and babies, for more information on how to become a part of the Healthy Start program, click this link:
https://healthystartcoalitionpasco.org/
or call 727 203-5239 or 727 371-6277 for Spanish, it's free!

Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco We provide special programs & services for moms and babies. Call us at (727) 841-7888 for an intake!

9 Fascinating Facts About August Babies

As summer’s last full month, August tends to be jam-packed with wonder and end-of-season adventure…so it makes total sense that August babies are little bundles of fun, too. Here are nine fun facts about your August baby’s special month.

9 Fascinating Facts About August Babies As summer’s last full month, August tends to be jam-packed with wonder and adventure…so it makes total sense that August babies are little bundles of fun, too.

988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline

We can all help prevent su***de. The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.

988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline We can all help prevent su***de. The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.

Reels: 90 seconds of urgent postpartum health information

This video explains what to do if you're experiencing a medical emergency symptom. Go to emergency care or call 911 if you experience anything you hear in the video. Tell them you’re pregnant or gave birth.

Maternal Health Warning Signs: When to call 911 - Pt. 1/2 with Nurse Nikki, 4th Trimester Project Maternal Health Warning Signs: When to call 911 - Pt. 1/2 with Nurse Nikki, 4th Trimester Project Watch Part 2: Maternal Health Warning Signs: When to call y...

Safe Sleep for Your Baby

Each year in the United States, thousands of babies die suddenly and unexpectedly. Some of these deaths result from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant death, such as suffocation.

Since the 1990s, when the U.S. back-sleeping recommendations were first released and public awareness efforts began, the overall U.S. SIDS rate has dropped.

But, as SIDS rates have declined, deaths from other sleep-related causes, such as suffocation, have increased, and certain groups remain at higher risk for SIDS than others.

For example, African American and American Indian/Alaska Native babies are at higher risk for SIDS than white, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander babies.

https://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov/resources/social-digital

What Should I Pack My Hospital Bag Before Giving Birth?

Getting ready for the big day is an exciting time, but it also calls for a little bit of preparing on your end! We know you've been planning all the other little details like your nursery and the best baby gear to buy. Here we'll help you plan for what to pack for the hospital and when to pack your hospital bag.

What Should I Pack My Hospital Bag Before Giving Birth? Expecting and wondering what to pack in your hospital bag? Dr. Harvey Karp has advice for pregnant women on the most helpful items to have in your hospital bag during labor and during recovery.

Breastfeeding & Safe Sleep
Feed your baby human milk.

Breastfeeding or feeding babies human milk offers several benefits for moms and babies.

Among the benefits for moms are reduced risk for certain conditions, such as diabetes and some cancers, later in life. Benefits for babies include protection from some infections and illnesses and a reduced risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends feeding only human milk—with no added formula or other foods or liquids (sometimes called exclusive breastfeeding)—for at least baby’s first 6 months, unless breastfeeding is not ideal due to health conditions.1 Parents can feed human milk through direct breastfeeding or by feeding human milk pumped from the breast.

Research shows that babies who are breastfed or fed human milk are at a reduced risk for SIDS compared with babies who were never breastfed or fed human milk.1,2

The longer a baby is exclusively breastfed or fed human milk, the lower the baby’s risk of SIDS. Feeding baby any human milk, even with other foods added, is more protective than not feeding human milk at all.

Breastfeeding & Safe Sleep | Safe to Sleep® Feed your baby human milk. Breastfeeding or feeding babies human milk offers several benefits for moms and babies.

August 03, 2024
Severe-Weather-1

Pasco County Government issues a voluntary evacuation for certain areas of Pasco County as Tropical Depression 4 heads toward the Gulf Coast. Life-threatening storm surge and tropical storm force winds are expected to impact Pasco County this weekend.

You should voluntarily evacuate if one or more of the following applies to you:

You live in Evacuation Zone A
You live in a manufactured home, mobile home or RV anywhere in Pasco
You live in a low-lying area or an area prone to flooding
You live in a structure that historically has experienced flooding during heavy rainfall
You’re registered with Pasco as a Special Needs Resident
You would be vulnerable in the event of a power loss
Know your evacuation zone. Please click HERE to enter your street address on our interactive map: mypas.co/Map, and to see other emergency information.

Please consider riding out the storm with family or friends. If that’s not an option, you can evacuate directly to a Pasco County Shelter.

Pasco County will be opening the following shelter for Special Needs and General Population customers Saturday, August 3 at 6 p.m.:

Fasano Regional Hurricane Center, 11611 Denton Avenue, Hudson
Pasco County Customer Service is available to answer your questions.

Please call 727.847.2411 or chat with us online at MyPasco.net. Call 911 if you need emergency assistance.

https://pascocountyfl.net/newslist.php

Preparing for a flood

Flooding is a temporary overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods are the most common disaster in the United States. Failing to evacuate flooded areas or entering flood waters can lead to injury or death.

Floods may:

Result from rain, snow, coastal storms, storm surges and overflows of dams and other water systems.
Develop slowly or quickly. Flash floods can come with no warning.
Cause outages, disrupt transportation, damage buildings and create landslides.

If you are under a flood warning:

Find safe shelter right away.
Do not walk, swim or drive through flood waters. Turn Around, Don’t Drown!

Remember, just six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.

Stay off bridges over fast-moving water.

Depending on the type of flooding:
Evacuate if told to do so.

Move to higher ground or a higher floor.

Stay where you are.

https://www.ready.gov/floods

It’s On! What to Expect When Your Water Breaks

We’ve all seen it in the movies: Our very pregnant heroine suddenly drowns her designer shoes in a flood of amniotic fluid, and 12-hours later, out pops a baby! In reality, your water breaking may or may not be so dramatic and may or may not be an immediate sign of labor. Here’s what to expect when your water breaks (or doesn’t) and what to do next.

What Does it Mean When Your Water Breaks?
What Causes Your Water to Break?
What Does it Feel Like When Your Water Breaks—and What Happens When Your Water Breaks?
What Does Amniotic Fluid Look and Smell Like?

click on the link below for more!

It’s On! What to Expect When Your Water Breaks Water breaking signs, causes, and how it feels when your water breaks. Here’s what to expect when your water breaks (or doesn’t) and what to do next.

It's never too early to start reading to children. Reading skills are already developing in the first few months of life and continue to grow. 📚⁠ ⁠

Learn more about early literacy: https://bit.ly/4bxAZ74

Safe Sleep Video Library

Look at the variety of safe sleep videos in English and Spanish specific to safe sleep!

Safe Sleep Video Library - Safe Sleep Academy

Grief knows no timeline and doesn't have an expiration date. While we recognize parents who have lost a child this month during , Florida Healthy Start is here to support parents who have lost a child year round.

Summer Fun
The bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, and the sun is blazing (some of the time). Check out these activities to try with your little ones in the lazy, hazy days of summer—rain or shine.

5 Things to Do on a Sunny Day

For babies:
Take a tour of the park. Holding baby in your arms, show him all the cool things in your park or yard: Here’s the slide—want to touch? Here’s the garbage can, it’s stinky! This is a rose bush, let’s have a smell! Give him the chance to explore what’s safe to touch—like shaking a branch or grabbing the swing.

Try tummy time on the grass. Lay a towel or blanket on the grass outside and then place baby on her belly. Lie down facing her, if you’d like. Read a board book or try a finger-play as you experience the world from a new perspective.

For toddlers:
Paint a shower curtain. Big, messy art projects are more fun outside when it’s warm and a hose is within easy reach for clean-up. You’ll need: an inexpensive shower curtain or liner (or old newspapers), washable paints, and bathing suits or old clothes for the painters. (Paintbrushes are optional. Kids can also paint with hands and feet.) Spread the shower curtain or newspapers on the ground and start painting.

Wash up! Gather up toy cars and trucks, washable dolls, child-safe plates/cups, and more. Fill a plastic container part way with water. If you want bubbles, add dish soap or shaving cream. Offer your child sponges, brushes, or dish rags to use as cleaning tools. (Supervise all water activities carefully and pour water out when your child is done playing.)

For babies and toddlers:
Have a picnic. Lay a blanket or towel on the ground outside and enjoy a meal or snack under a bright blue sky. Bring a few books to share, sing some songs. Lay on your back to look at the clouds or lay on your bellies to look at each other.

https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/summer-fun/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2Xu8tT07hFwO1ROQBY1gauYDzdmp3Zd4jLnIYC-BXX8R6Ir7B0OjOa3a4_aem_sGjwLggkeicWmS-i9KbD6Q

Summer Fun The bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, and the sun is blazing (some of the time). Check out these activities to try with your little ones in the lazy, hazy days of summer—rain or shine. 5 Things to Do on a Sunny Day For babies: Take a tour of the park. Holding baby in your arms, show him ...

New Healthy Start participants get a chance to win an Evenflo Infant Carrier!

Each week you will see the raffle winning number here!

Friday, June 21, the winner is: YN349
Friday, June 28, the winner is: TC299

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Healthy Start provides special programs and local resources for moms and babies, for more information on how to become a part of the Healthy Start program, click this link:

https://healthystartcoalitionpasco.org/
or call 727 203-5239 or 727 371-6277 for Spanish, it's free!

Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco We provide special programs & services for moms and babies. Call us at (727) 841-7888 for an intake!

What is prenatal-onset GBS?

Prenatal-onset Group B Strep Disease (POGBSD) occurs before labor and delivery and includes miscarriages and stillbirths caused by group B strep. POGBSD is invasive GBS disease (iGBS) that infects the baby in the womb before early-onset prevention protocols would be effective.

This type of GBS disease is often overlooked or not recognized, discounting the thousands of babies who have been lost or harmed by GBS before birth. We want to change that!

Prenatal-onset GBS Disease Prenatal-onset GBS include miscarriages and stillbirths caused by the disease. There are several knowledge-based strategies to help prevent unborn babies becoming infected by group b strep.

Preventing Heatstroke

Across the country, about 38 kids die every year in hot cars. The three main reasons:

Forgotten: The most common occurrence is when a change in routine or distraction results in the child being left in the car, for example, rather than being dropped off at childcare. More than 50% of cases involve forgotten children.

Access to unlocked vehicle: The second most frequent occurrence involves children gaining access to unlocked vehicles. More than 25% of cases can be attributed to kids getting into cars on their own and not being able to get back out. Often young children are able to open a vehicle door from the outside, but are unable to open the door or identify how to exit a vehicle from the inside.

Intentionally left behind: In about 20% of cases, kids are intentionally left in hot cars. Some believe it’s safe to leave children in a vehicle for a few minutes, even it’s hot. No matter the reason, a child left in a vehicle can experience a rapid temperature rise, one that can be life-threateing within minutes.

How You Can Help
Safe Kids Worldwide, Kids and Car Safety, Jan Null (noheatstroke.org) and the National Safety Council work together with many other partners to help eliminate these preventable tragedies, and we’re asking you to join us.

Below you will find a collection of newsletters that include sample social media posts, resources and personal stories – in short, tools you can use to help inform others and ensure that no family has to endure the loss of a child to heatstroke in a hot car.

https://www.cpsboard.org/heatstroke-prevention/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0fQdEzFYntFQLeFa90u141by2N_yk9pgsejTbT7vo_QFUoilP0Hfu6Me4_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Heatstroke Prevention | CPS Board Since 1998, more than 960 children in the U.S. have died of vehicular heatstroke because they were left or became trapped in a hot car. It’s important for everyone to understand that children are more vulnerable to heatstroke and that all hot car deaths are preventable. We — as parents, caregive...

Our TEAM Dad program supports Dads in achieving their fatherhood goals.

6 Tips to Ease Your Pregnancy Back Pain

An aching back tends to go along with pregnancy like ice cream on pie…except pregnancy back pain is no treat. Unfortunately, many expecting moms will experience back pain at some point during pregnancy.
With so many factors at play—from weight gain to hormones loosening ligaments to your center of gravity shifting—back pain is a natural consequence of carrying a baby.

But that doesn’t mean you have to suffer for nine long months. With a few simple remedies, you can help ease—or even prevent—pregnancy back pain.

How to Ease Pregnancy Back Pain

Use heat not cold.
Heating pads are a safe way to help your back muscles loosen up and allow you to relax. Ice packs are not as effective as heat, as they can make muscles feel even more tense. Massage can also be helpful—especially when done by a professional therapist who is well versed in massaging pregnant bodies.

Wear supportive shoes.
Sporting shoes with good arch support and slight heel (not flats) can make a huge difference, especially if you’re on your feet all day. Solid support can prevent your gait from compensating from sore feet or joints, which can all lead to a sore back. It’s all connected!

Lift with your legs.
When lifting anything from your child to a bag of groceries…or even a weight in a gym, be sure to lift with your legs by squatting. If you know that an object is too heavy to pick up, then don’t! Let someone else do the heavy lifting for you (literally!). Pulling a muscle while pregnant is no picnic.

Sleep on your side.
As you may have already discovered, catching shuteye during pregnancy can take some serious effort. Not only do you have wild pregnancy dreams, but you might also have to wake to p*e several times a night. Add back to pain to the mix, and you might wonder if you’ll ever sleep again! Snoozing on your side and keeping your knees bent with a pillow between them reduces the strain you put on your back muscles.

6 Tips to Ease Your Pregnancy Back Pain Back pain is a natural consequence of carrying a baby. But that doesn’t mean you have to suffer for nine long months. With a few simple remedies, you can help ease—or even prevent—pregnancy back pain.

Safe Sleep – Cribs and Infant Products

Remember CPSC’s "dos and don’ts" for baby sleep spaces
Many young babies cannot lift their heads to pull away from soft objects that can pose a suffocation risk, such as bumpers, blankets, pillows, and sleep positioners. Also, a seated or semi-reclined position can cause your baby’s head to tip forward and their airway to be blocked.

Follow these simple tips to make every sleep a safe sleep:

DO:

Do use products intended for sleep including cribs, bassinet, play yard and bedside sleepers that meet federal requirements.
Do remember "Bare is Best" - nothing but a fitted sheet in a crib, bassinet or play yard.
Do always place baby on their back.
Do move your baby to their crib, bassinet, or play yard if they fall asleep elsewhere.
Do check our website for recalls (SaferProducts.gov) and sign up to receive recall notifications
DON’T:

Don’t add pillows or blankets to your baby’s sleep space.
Don’t use weighted blankets or weighted swaddles*.
Don’t allow your baby to sleep in an inclined product with an angle greater than 10º such as a rocker, bouncer or glider.
Don’t leave your baby unsupervised in products that aren’t designed for safe sleeping, such as any inclined product.
Inclined products, such as rockers, gliders, soothers and swings, should never be used for infant sleep.
*NIH.gov and CDC.gov

Learn How to Put Your Baby to Sleep Safely
If you just had a baby, are expecting, or are taking care of a young infant, it's important to create a safe sleep environment for your baby. Because babies spend much of their time sleeping, the nursery should be the safest room in the house. Take a few moments to learn about safe sleep.

Additional Safe Sleep Resources
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has a comprehensive Question and Answer page about how you can make sure your child is sleeping safely. Learn more about creating a safe sleep environment for your baby.

https://www.cpsc.gov/SafeSleep?utm_source=Safe+to+Sleep%C2%AE&utm_campaign=d5b6092c4a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_05_15_06_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-9342338c6e-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Safe Sleep – Cribs and Infant Products Share: Share it on Facebook Share it on Twitter Copy Link Copy link ​​​​​ Remember CPSC’s "dos and don’ts" for baby sleep spaces Many young babies cannot lift their heads to pull away from soft objects that can pose a suffocation risk, such as bumpers, blankets, pillows, and sleep posi...

Wonderful to see that children are included!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 17.8 million children, nearly 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.*

That’s enough children to fill New York City twice or Los Angeles four times over.

Research shows that a father's absence affects children in numerous unfortunate ways, while a father's presence makes a positive difference in the lives of both children and mothers.

Father Absence Statistics National Fatherhood Initiative’s compilation of the data and statistics on the causes and consequences of father absence.