About Welcome, Baby!

First 5 LA’s program, Best Start LA, intends to integrate and strengthen families, communities and organizations that serve children in the prenatal through three age group in five communities throughout L.A. County.

A key strategy in providing families access to their Best Start communities is Welcome, Baby!, a universal home visitation program. In this program, community health workers and registered nurses conducts a series of prenatal, hospital and home visits for all expectant families living in a Best Start community.

These Welcome, Baby! visits will strengthen ties between families and their community. The visits also impart important information about their child’s development to parents, as well as information on screening services, health promotion and education.

The Welcome, Baby! program seeks to provide families the support they need to increase breastfeeding, ensure they receive appropriate health and development care, and improve their connections to resources and services in their community.

First 5 LA has awarded LA Best Babies Network with a two-year grant to coordinate the implementation of the Welcome, Baby! pilot program that will build on the Healthy Births Initiative.