New Parent Support Program

The New Parent Support Program is a team made up of nurses, social workers and home visitation specialists who offer support and guidance by helping parents:

• Build strong, healthy bonds with their infants and toddlers that will lay the foundation for their social and emotional development
• Manage the demands of parenting, especially when impacted by deployments and other military operations
• Remain flexible and responsive when navigating daily life
• Build a strong support network
• Respond to infant and toddler behavior sensitively and be attuned to their developmental needs
• Find services in the local community in time of need

Learn more about the New Parent Support Program and contact your installation New Parent Support Program office to find out what’s available at your installation.

New Parent Support Program staff are child development professionals, including registered nurses, clinical social workers, and para-professionals trained in the delivery and practice of established home visiting models. The program is supervised and monitored at the installation level by the Family Advocacy program manager.

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

Contact your installation New Parent Support Program office or Family Advocacy Program office.

The New Parent Support Home Visitation Program (NPSHVP) is a free support service program designed to meet the needs of expectant active-duty military personnel, their spouses and those families with children under the age of four. The program is to provide prenatal and parenting skills education to active-duty service members and their families.

NPSHVP's primary goal is to enhance their quality of life by empowering parents to meet the challenges of parenthood while maintaining a military lifestyle. The program offers a variety of services, including prenatal health and nutrition consultation, breastfeeding education, early child development education, parenting skills and home visitation services. This program offers expectant parents and parents of newborn and young children the opportunity to learn new skills as parents and to improve existing parenting skills, in the privacy of their own home.

New Parent Services

• How to bond with baby.
• How to child-proof your home and prepare it for baby’s arrival.
• The stages of child development.
• Skills, strategies and techniques to promote the growth and development of your child.
• How to balance the demands of caring for your child with caring for yourself.<

Prenatal Services

New Parent Support Home Visitation Program offers prenatal information about pregnancy, birth and infant care.

Both Mom and Dad learn through the Nurturing Pre-Natal Family Program how to:

• Bond with baby
• Nurture themselves and their partners
• Prevent drug-related birth defects<
• Handle stress and anger
• Explore their thoughts on discipline
• Prevent drug-related birth defects
• Use infant massage
• Celebrate the birth
• Deal with physical and emotional changes
• Strengthen the bond with their partner

Additional Information

• Siblings preparing for a new family member
• Resources in your own community
• Current hot topics concerning parenting
• Information on breast feeding

We do not have to remind you that raising a family in the military is not always easy. Moves. Deployments. Separation. Stress. Being a single parent has its own set of challenges when taking on the roles of Sailor, parent and trying to find time to take care of yourself. That is why we say that if you are feeling a little anxiety, it really is normal! You are not alone. We can help, call us at 831-656-3060.