Staff members who work with expectant families should have enough knowledge, training, experience, and competencies to support pregnant women and expectant families well. Working with expectant families requires special knowledge about pregnancy, the perinatal period, and childbirth. Also, staff members need to understand how pregnancy affects a child’s health and development.

Look for group or individual training opportunities to improve the skills of each staff member who works with pregnant women and expectant families. Programs using a parenting curriculum that includes the prenatal period may be able to get training for staff from the curriculum developers.

Tips and Strategies for Training Staff

• Make sure that staff members receive training on:
  • Fetal development
  • The risks of substance use during pregnancy, like alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and the benefits of substance use treatment
  • Labor and delivery
  • Breastfeeding
  • Postpartum recovery
  • Infant care
  • Safe sleep practices.

Resources for Staff Professional Development

• Safe to Sleep: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• Newborn Care and Safety
• Labor and Birth

Collaborating with Families

Early Head Start staff members meet with pregnant mothers and expectant families as they prepare for their new baby. This activity includes making sure families have comprehensive prenatal care that includes nutrition education, oral health care, and mental health support. Understanding what to expect during pregnancy and after delivery can help families feel better prepared to raise a child.

This approach also includes engaging fathers from the beginning. Including fathers can help them feel valued, cared for, and ready to support their partner and children. Head Start staff and community health partners can support expectant families by inviting fathers to prenatal home visits and parenting classes so that they can learn about pregnancy, infant care, and parental mental health. Fathers can also benefit from the same mental health support offered to mothers. Fathers who get mental health support interact with and read with their children more often and pay more attention to their partner’s well-being. This activity leads to better mental well-being for everyone in the family.

Resources for Collaborating with Families

• Engaging Teen Parents: Lessons from Teens About What Works for Them
• Developmental Foundations of School Readiness for Infants and Toddlers
• The Importance of Home Language Series
• Birth to 5 Father Engagement Guide
• Best Practices in Family and Community Engagement Video Series