Pregnancy and early parenthood can bring plenty of wonderful moments – and just as many questions! The good news is, you don’t have to learn everything on your own.
Thanks to our partnership with Nourish Baby, eligible HIF members can access free online education programs, designed to offer support throughout pregnancy and early parenthood.
What kind of support is available for HIF members?
Nourish Baby offers eligible HIF members access to a range of programs that combine practical, evidence-based education with one-on-one support from experienced health and early parenting professionals.
This includes:
• Access to Nourish Baby’s online learning library
• Tailored support from Certified Lactation Consultants
• Personalised sleep and settling support
Which HIF members are eligible to receive support from Nourish Baby?
If you hold any level of domestic Hospital cover with HIF, then you’re eligible to receive access to Nourish Baby’s online learning hub.
Following the birth of your baby, you’ll also have access to a series of personalised sleep and settling telehealth sessions delivered by qualified early parenting consultants.
So, let’s jump right into the details!
Nourish Baby’s Online Learning Library
Nourish Baby provides eligible HIF members with access to their comprehensive library of interactive online courses, allowing parents to learn at their own pace and revisit information as their baby continues to grow and develop.
These online courses cover a range of topics, including:
- Maintaining your health and wellbeing during pregnancy
- Preparing for labour and birth
- Guides to feeding your newborn baby
- Sleep and settling for infants and new parents
- First aid for newborn babies and infants
- Growth and development milestones for infants and toddlers
- Practical education for grandparents
Tailored support from Certified Lactation Consultants
Nourish Baby offers eligible HIF members access to personalised feeding and lactation consultations with an experienced, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). These consultants offer feeding support, tailored to each family's circumstances, needs and feeding choices.
Support during pregnancy:
Nourish Baby’s Lactation Consultants can offer support before your baby arrives, to help you feel prepared and understand what to expect when you feed your baby during the early days and weeks.
Support from a consultant during your pregnancy can include:
- How your milk supply is established
- What to expect during the first weeks with your newborn
- How to manage feeding multiple babies, and more!
Post-partum support:
Once your baby arrives, Nourish Baby’s Lactation Consultants can discuss any questions or concerns you have about feeding your newborn, and provide you with practical, evidence-based guidance, tailored to the individual needs of you and your baby.
Support from Nourish Baby’s Lactation Consultants post-partum can help:
• Understand your baby’s feeding cues
• Review your baby’s feeding position and attachment
• Address common challenges with breastfeeding, including unsettled and fussy behaviour
• Discuss questions or concerns about milk supply, expressing, pumping, or mixed feeding
• Support feeding transitions and weaning
• Maintain feeding your baby when you return to work
Personalised sleep and settling support
Nourish Baby offers eligible HIF members access to one-on-one sleep and settling consultations, for additional support once their baby is born.
Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, Nourish Baby’s consultants work with families to understand their individual circumstances and build confidence in responding to their baby's needs. These consultations give parents the opportunity to discuss their baby’s sleep and receive personalised guidance based on their baby's age, development and individual needs.
How the sleep and settling calls work:
• Eligible HIF members can access the program by submitting a registration form here.
• A consultant from Nourish Baby will get in contact to schedule your first consultation.
Your first 30-minute sleep and settling consultation will ideally be scheduled for when your baby is around four weeks old – though this will depend on availability, and the date you submitted your referral.
Your first consultation will focus on the early newborn period, including:
• How to understand your baby’s sleep patterns, behaviours and cues
• Things new parents can expect to happen in the weeks ahead.
Ongoing support for new parents:
• After your first consultation, any additional consultations you’re eligible for will typically be scheduled approximately 4 to 8 weeks apart from each other.
• Sleep and settling support through the program will generally continue until your baby is approximately 6 to 8 months old.
This means your Nourish Baby consultant can continue to provide guidance as your baby continues to grow – and help your family work through the behaviours, cues, changes and challenges that typically arise during each stage.
Ready to get started with the Sleep Eazzzy Baby with HIF program?
• Complete HIF’s Sleep Eazzzy Baby registration form here.
• Or, take your time browsing all the information you need on HIF’s Sleep Eazzzy Baby page.