Hanscom AFB  Military and Family Support Center

You may be expecting your first baby or busy with a toddler. That means you have your hands full, and may have questions. Thankfully, help is at hand. The New Parent Support Program is a free service for military parents.

The program focuses on one-on-one support through home visits. Parenting classes and playgroups may also be available at some locations. Staff members include nurses, social workers and home visitation specialists.

Learn more about the New Parent Support Program.

Topics include:

• Bonding
• Breastfeeding support
• Child safety
• Managing demands
• Nutrition
• Positive discipline
• Sleep management
• Support systems

The program’s home visitors understand the challenges of military life. They can share tools for successful parenting during PCS, deployment and more.

New Parent Support Program staff are child development professionals, including registered nurses, clinical social workers, or para-professionals trained in the delivery and practice of established home visiting models. 

The program is available to military families who are expecting a baby or have kids 3 or younger. Marine Corps eligibility includes families with at least one child under 5.

Contact your Family Advocacy Program office or Military and Family Support Center.

There is no New Parent Support Program at Hanscom AFB.

Family Advocacy staff members provide outreach and prevention services to military families. Services are tailored to each family's unique circumstances and can help with adaptation to military life, preparation for parenthood, enhancing parenting skills, single parent issues, couple communication, coping with divorce, and stress management. Family Advocacy offers parenting and couples classes, community resource connections and referrals, domestic violence/child abuse training, and a breast pump loan program. Family Advocacy staff members understand the impact military life can have on families, including deployments and separation from family and friends, and can assist families in coping with these special situations.

In addition, the Family Advocacy Program identifies, reports, assesses, and treats family maltreatment by providing clinical intervention for victims, offenders, and other family members. Family Advocacy can assist in navigating the court system and can serve as a liaison with Child Protective Services.

Family Advocacy can also work with individual couples to help prepare them for impending parenthood
as well as managing expectations and stress after baby is born.

The Airman & Family Readiness Center offers a Bundles for Babies class in support of expecting parents.

Bundles for Babies is an all-day class covering many topics related to pregnancy, birth and infant care and safety. It is managed by the Air Force Aid Society Officer at the Airman and Family Readiness Center and taught by representatives of many on and off-base agencies. All service personnel may attend. Please call 781-225-2765 to register.