THE Swan Hill Pregnancy and Early Childhood Expo is back for 2024.
This free event will be held at the Swan Hill Town Hall on May 8 from 10am to 2pm.
It will be an opportunity to learn more about local public health services and information from pregnancy planning to early childhood.
The expo is run by the Swan Hill Pregnancy and Early Years Collaborative that meets to explore the gaps, improvements and next steps relating to pregnancy and early years for families across the Swan Hill local government area.
“We want parents and families to know what they can access locally,” a collaborative representative said.
“Far too often we hear that people weren’t aware of certain services or that they could access support.
“We want to change that so we thought bringing these services and information together and throwing in some fun activities to make a bit of a day out would be a great way to start the conversation with the community.”
The event will open with an acknowledgement of Country and cultural dance performance from young First Nations dancers arranged by Mallee District Aboriginal Services at 10.15am.
The expo will then have community members engage with more than 20 services on the day, providing a chance for people to speak face-to-face with providers.
These include Swan Hill District Health Services such as midwifery, breastfeeding support, dental, allied health and counselling.
Other services including Mallee Aboriginal District Services, Mallee Family Care, Anglicare and headspace will be there too to discuss how they work with the community to support families during pregnancy and early childhood.
“Too often parents feel they have to go at it alone or are reluctant to ask for help,” the collaborative representative said.
“We really want to normalise accessing services and support, because it is totally normal to need a bit of help sometimes.
“That’s what we are here for.”
Maternal Child Health will be there to promote the services it provides in Swan Hill for families with young children aged up to six years, including health checks, playgroup and new parents’ group in collaboration with Ambulance Victoria, which has been providing choking and CPR classes to the new parents’ group.
Other notable stallholders at the event will be Shinebright, which will have staff available to discuss children entering kindergarten in 2025, and Intereach, which helps with recommending the most appropriate support for local children.
Along with providing information, the expo will have lots of fun entertainment for kids with interactive activities, playgroups and local community services including Swan Hill Regional Library, Swan Hill Community Toy Library and Mainly Music.
To add to the fun the expo will also be celebrating the Early Years Online Hub’s second anniversary with prizes to be won and a representative in attendance to answer questions about the local website.
While at the expo, parents and carers of children up to six years of age will be able to share ideas and experiences to help plan a future for children, families and communities.
Those who participate by sharing will have the chance to win one of five $50 gift cards.
To be in the running attendees need only complete a short survey as part of a Swan Hill Rural City Council Early Years Services Consultation.
The Swan Hill Pregnancy and Early Childhood Expo will be on Wednesday May 8 from 10am to 2pm
