The Gaston Healthy Beginnings Program is a free program that was developed for pregnant and post-partum African American women and Latinos between the age of 13 to 22 who live in Gaston County. The program provides case management services, educational group sessions, support services, resource and referrals, and community outreach.

Gaston County Healthy Beginnings serves unduplicated minority individuals, specifically pregnant and post-partum African American women and Latinos between the age of 13 to 22 who live in Gaston County.

Healthy Beginnings, a minority infant mortality reduction program, that focuses on improving birth outcomes among minority individuals, reducing minority infant morbidity and mortality, and supporting families and communities. The Healthy Beginnings Program provides education to each participant in the following areas:

• Breastfeeding: Provide education, support and referrals to encourage breastfeeding initiation and maintenance for at least the first six months. Provide education and support to partners/support people and family members to support breastfeeding individuals.
• Quitting smoking/tobacco and avoiding secondhand smoke: Provide education and advice to help participants quit using tobacco products (inclusive of electronic nicotine delivery systems). Provide education and advice to help eliminate participants’ and their children’s exposure to secondhand smoke. Offer education and resources to help partners/support people and family members quit using tobacco.
  products and provide education on the risks of secondhand smoke exposure. Refer participants, partners/support people and family members to QuitlineNC for tobacco cessation counseling.
• Safe sleep:  Provide education to participants, partners/support people, and family members on current infant safe sleep practices and conduct monthly assessments on infant safe sleep practices until the child is 12 months of age. Provide resources and referrals for infant items that are approved for safe sleep environments when available.
• Folic acid consumption: Provide education and support to ensure that participants are continuing to consume a multivitamin that contains the recommended daily allowance of folic acid and other nutrients. 
• Reproductive life planning: Conduct reproductive life plan assessments with participants, provide education on the risks of short interpregnancy intervals, and conduct monthly assessments on birth control methods being used. Offer education and resources to partners/support people on reproductive life planning.
• Healthy weight and exercise: Provide education and support on healthy weight and physical activity and conduct assessments on participants’ postpartum body mass index (BMI), no sooner than six weeks after baby’s birth and at program discharge when baby turns two years of age. Offer education and resources to partners/support people and family members on healthy eating and physical activity.
• Well child visits: Provide education and referrals to participants to ensure their children are receiving all the recommended well-childcare and immunizations based on the recommendations for preventive pediatric health care from Bright Futures/American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Healthy Beginnings has served 33 participants so far this FY. The current enrollment is 26. They are focusing on increasing enrollment.