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 Wednesday May 8 from 10 am to 2 pm.
The expo will be a chance to learn more about local public health services and planning from pregnancy to early childhood.
It is run by the Swan Hill Pregnancy and Early Years Collaborative, a working group that explores gaps, improvements and next steps relating to pregnancy and the early years for children and 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 all 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 get awareness out there.”
The event will open with an acknowledgement of country and cultural dance performance by young First Nations dancers arranged by Mallee District Aboriginal Services at 10.15am.
The expo will then have community members engaging with more than 20 services, providing a chance for people to speak face-to-face with providers including Swan Hill District Health Services’ midwifery, breastfeeding support, dental, allied health and Counselling.
Other services include Mallee Aboriginal District Services, Mallee Family Care, Anglicare and headspace will be there too, working with the community to support families during pregnancy and early childhood.
The collaborative representative said: “Far too often parents feel they have to go at it alone or are reluctant to ask for help so we really want to normalise accessing services and support because it is totally normal to need a bit of help sometimes and that’s what we are here for.’
Maternal Child Health will be there to promote the services it provides in San Hill for families with children aged from birth to six years, including health checks, playgroup and a new parents’ group in collaboration with Ambulance Victoria, which has been providing choking and CPR classes to the new parents.
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 by recommending the most appropriate support for local children.
Along with information, the expo will have lots of fun things for kids to do, with interactive activities, playgroups in attendance and local community services including the Swan Hill Regional Library, Swan Hill Community Toy Library and Mainly Music.
To add to the fun, the expo will lso 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.
Expo attendees can also share ideas and experiences to help plan a future for children, families and communities.
Parents and carers of children aged 0-6 years can go into the running to win one of five $50 gift cards by completing a short survey as part of Swan Hill Rural City Council’s early years services consultation.
