Dubbo Aboriginal Corporation Health Service has been awarded $371,950 from the federal government for the New Directions: Mothers and Babies Services program.

“This will be a great new service for Indigenous communities in the electorate, providing better access to healhcare, including antenatal care and practical advice for mothers, and immunisation and health checks for children before they start school,” Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said.

“The New Directions program builds on the government’s commitment to halve the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander infant mortality, and is contributing to positive health results for women and children.”

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Another $354,250 has been given to the Bourke Aboriginal Service and $426,780 to the Pius-X Aboriginal Corporation in Moree to also run the New Directions program. It’s part of a wider expansion to help build stronger, healthier and more resilient Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander children and families.

“We are seeing positive health results including a decrease in smoking rates during pregnancy, a decrease in rates of low birth weight babies and improved childhood immunisation rates,” Mr Coulton said.

“This is an important health program that will help our local children have a great start to life.”

The program targets five priority areas: care of mothers before and immediately after the birth of their baby; detailed information about baby care; practical parenting, breast-feeding and nutrition assistance; monitoring children’s development, immunisations and infections; and health checks and treatment referrals before children start school.

The new sites for the program were identified through consultation with local Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Health Partnership Forums. There are now 136 New Directions services across Australia.