A Mother’s Journey with The Salvation Army’s Healthy Baby Program

Healthy Baby/Family Foundations is one of several programs offered by The Salvation Army in partnership with the Department of Families. Through support and guidance, both expectant parents and those with children under the age of one are given opportunities and resources to develop parenting skills.

The program meets weekly at The Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre in Winnipeg, providing expert advice on pregnancy and parenting, and allowing participants to share tips. Although the program is open to any parent or legal guardian, it is mainly attended by mothers.

Elif Selaman, a mother of two, has had a long history with the program, even before her oldest daughter was born. In 2006she was in university and, as part of her studies, she volunteered by assisting the program’s dietician. She had another volunteer stint in 2012. Later on, she was hired as the Outreach Worker of the program.

“Everyone there is going through the same journey but at different times, so it is nice to hear about everybody’s experiences.”

When Elif became pregnant with her first child, she did not hesitate to join the program as a participant.

“Everyone there is going through the same journey but at different times, so it is nice to hear about everybody’s experiences,” Elif said.

Elif believes that the program’s most crucial aspect is teaching self-care to mothers.

“Talking about self-care for the mother is very important. Yes, you have to take care of the baby, but you also need to take care of yourself because if you are not there who is going to take care of the baby,” she said.

In June 2022 Elif’s youngest daughter was born. During her current participation in the program, Elif has shared her tips with other parents, and sees them as a supportive network.

“During my first pregnancy, my parents were still living in Winnipeg, but they now live in Ottawa. I used to do weekly visits with my family, but now that they moved, I do my weekly visits with the Family Foundations program,” Elif said.

The Coordinator of Family Life Services, Florence Quan, has helped run the Healthy Baby program since its introduction. Florence has seen many parents, like Elif, that have joined the program multiple times. Seeing parents come back, ensures Florence that the purpose of the program is being fulfilled.

“When parents come back to our program, it tells us that we made an impact in their lives with their first child, and they felt that the information given was good,” Florence said.

“When parents come back to our program, it tells us that we made an impact in their lives with their first child.”

The Healthy Baby/Family Foundations program runs every Thursday and provides pre and postnatal information to parents. The program includes insight from public health nurses, dieticians, and other guest speakers.

Elif is nearing the end of her second time in the program and, although she is preparing to leave, she says that the program has been a vital support system and a source of knowledge for her.

“My youngest daughter is turning one soon, so it’s going to be bittersweet to leave the group again,” Elif said.

“I might just have a third baby so I can keep going to the program,” she joked.

By Juan Romero