Special Gift for New Babies in Cumberland Area

Babies born at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre are now receiving a special welcome gift of books thanks to a program officially launched today, Aug. 12.

Premier John Hamm joined representatives of the Read to Me! Nova Scotia Family Literacy Program, the Cumberland Health Authority and the Cumberland Regional Library to celebrate the start of the program in the area.

The Read to Me! program welcomes newborns into the world with the presentation of books and other items designed to inform parents about the positive impact that reading, holding, singing and talking to a baby has in building healthy minds, strong parent- child bonds and the foundations of language and reading.

"Reading to a child provides sights and sounds which help the brain develop fully," said the program's director Carol MacDougall. "Babies who are read to at an early age develop much larger vocabularies than children who are not read to in infancy. Read to Me! gives parents the tools they need to enrich their babies' lives."

"Providing our young people with the best education possible is a key priority of our government," said Premier Hamm. "The premise behind Read to Me! is that it is never too early to start learning and, when you help a child learn, you are giving them a key to a happier, healthier future."

Bruce Quigley, CEO of the Cumberland Health Authority, said statistics have shown that improved literacy levels have a positive impact on the health of a community and the health-care system. "By providing new parents with resources to establish a positive learning environment for their children, we can help improve the overall health of our communities," he said.

Since its inception in 2002 at the IWK Health Centre, Cape Breton Health Care Complex and the Yarmouth Regional Hospital, the Read to Me! program has expanded across the province. More than 10,000 new parents have received the Read to Me! gift bag.

One day after the birth of a baby, families are given a canvas bag containing two quality board books, a video celebrating the joys and benefits of reading, a CD containing a collection of lullabies and nursery rhymes, information about reading development, community resources and an invitation to get a library card for their baby. More than 200 families have applied for library cards for their babies after receiving the library invitation in the Read to Me! gift bag.

At the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre, nursing staff in the maternal/child unit will be presenting the gift bags to new mothers. Each gift bag will include a special invitation and information from the Cumberland Regional Library.