Report outlines efforts to support young families in parenthood

It also looks at areas of concern such as childhood obesity and older pregnancy

- Taryn Ng

Ms Yan Yue Mei used to fret over her daughter’s picky eating habits as the four-year-old was smaller than her peers.

The first-time mother turned to community nurses at Family Nexus at Our Tampines Hub (FamNex@OTH) who suggested using food colouring to make the food more attractive and letting the little girl help with food preparation, like helping to wash the fruits.

Ms Yan, 35, who works in the healthcare sector, is among 204 residents the centre has helped since November 2022. It was officially launched on June 14.

The centre was one of the initiatives highlighted in a report by an inter-agency task force on plans to support couples and families as they prepare for parenthood and to raise children.

The publication released on June 14 looks at the state of child and maternal health in Singapore, and some spots of concern such as complications from having children at a later age.

The Child and Maternal Health and Well-being (CAMH) Taskforce, led by Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health Masagos Zulkifli, comprises policymakers and practitioners from across the health, social and education sectors.

Its report, which is available on the Ministry of Health’s website, highlights ongoing and future initiatives to support couples preparing for parenthood, help families have healthier lifestyles, and provide more coordinated support for families as a unit.

Its nine recommendations have resulted in nearly 50 initiatives.

“To date, we have implemented more than half of the 48 initiatives and are seeing early positive outcomes,” said Mr Masagos on June 14 at SingHealth’s launch of FamNex@OTH.

Among them, families are treated as a unit when designing care services, he said. “Rather than receiving discrete services at different touchpoints, we are integrating support.”