Maternal and child health

We are funding and working with NHSScotland to promote and support good child and maternal health, so that all children in Scotland can have the best possible start in life.

Actions

We are:

• improving maternity and neonatal care by implementing our five-year plan for those services
• offering free vitamins to all pregnant women to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby
• undertaking a maternal and infant nutrition survey to see whether our policies are working
• funding free school meals for all children in primary 1 to 3 in local authority schools
• supporting delivery of a universal health visiting service to help ensure the health and wellbeing of all pre-school children
• delivering the Family Nurse Partnership programme to support first-time teenage mothers, as well as some mothers aged up to 24
• setting vaccination policy in Scotland to protect our children against serious vaccine preventable diseases
• managing welfare foods in Scotland, including Healthy Start vouchers and the nursery milk scheme
• supporting parents with premature babies in NHS care through our Neonatal Expenses Fund
• working to improve social care support

Background

Our policies to support maternal and child health are part of Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) - our national approach to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of children and young people.

In January 2017 we published The best start: a five-year forward plan for maternity and neonatal care in Scotland, which sets out how we will improve the services available for pregnant women and newborn babies in Scotland.

In 2011 we published Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action which outlines the measures to be taken by organisations working with families to ensure that every parent is supported to give their baby the very best nutritional start in life.

You can find health advice for before and during pregnancy, and for babies and toddlers, on NHS Inform.

Bills and legislation

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

Breastfeeding etc. (Scotland) Act 2005

Contact

Email: Central Enquiries Unit ceu@gov.scot

Telephone: 0300 244 4000

Post:
Improving Health and Wellbeing Division
Children and Families Directorate
Scottish Government
Area 2B (North)
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ