Florida Healthy Babies Initiative

Florida Healthy Babies is a collaborative statewide initiative to reduce infant mortality, engaging with the department’s 67 local health offices and numerous community partners to address infant mortality with evidence-based interventions. The goals include:

• Encourage early entry into prenatal care
• Distribute safe sleep education through websites, social media, community partners and safe sleep goodie bags
• Promote the Infant Feeding Line to the community through community partners, WIC and community engagement
• Educate parents on healthy infant feeding practices
• Increase awareness of pregnancy and substance use care available at DOH-Citrus through community engagement
• Provide resources, education and assistance with breastfeeding and infant feeding
• Provide resources on perinatal mood disorders during interoception to reduce risk of substance dependency prior to pregnancy

Support Group

Florida Healthy Babies hosts a weekly Baby and Me Group:

• Wednesdays at 11 a.m., DOH-Citrus main office in Lecanto (3700 W. Sovereign Path, Lecanto, FL, 34461

Resoures

For safe sleep information and resources, help with infant feeding, expert breastfeeding education and support, call our international certified lactation consultant, Felicia Deluca, at 352-513-6060.

Strong Florida Moms - Access information about what to expect during pregnancy, resources to obtain health care, and answers to many of the questions Florida moms and dads have about parenting. Families can also access community resources such as local support groups with other moms.