INFANT is an evidenced-based program designed to help parents and families with healthy eating and active play from the start of their baby’s life.
INFANT in a nutshell
INFANT consists of four face-to face group sessions for first-time parents led by a Maternal and Child Health Nurse (MCHN), Dietitian or other early years practitioner, with content reinforced via the My Baby Now app for parents. INFANT is designed to promote healthy eating, increase active play and reduce screen time for infants from birth until 18 months of age.
- Option: Review the INFANT Facilitator Manual including parent handouts – the manual can also be found in ‘course materials’ in the facilitator’s section of the INFANT website.
We know from our research and talking with INFANT practitioners and parents that there are several core components that are responsible for the effectiveness of INFANT – diagram below:
In brief, INFANT is:
- a scalable, evidence-based program with more than fifteen years of research.
- Option: Review the INFANT randomised control trial and other evidence that shows INFANT helps children and parents.
- a low cost, universal intervention that enhances existing MCH services.
- consistent with policy frameworks and systems in early childhood health and wellbeing.
- Option: Review links with existing frameworks such as the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan here.
New Australian policy frameworks relevant to INFANT
- NEW: Victorian Government’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures plan.
- Victorian Government’s five-year action plan to support children and young people to be health active and well.
- INFANT is recognised as a key action for Priority 3: “Helping first-time parents access the best possible advice and tips on healthy eating and active play for a healthy, happy baby though community and maternal and child health services via the INFANT program.” Source: Dept of Health, Healthy Kids Healthy Futures plan, p24.
- NEW: National Obesity Strategy 2022-2032.
- 10-year framework for action plan to create supportive environments, empower people to stay healthy and enable access to early intervention and primary health care. Excerpt shown below:
Diagram: The National Obesity Strategy 2022 – 2032
Source: Appendix 3, Commonwealth of Australia (2022). The National Obesity Strategy 2022-2032. Health Ministers Meeting.
- Option: Read about other new national policies and strategies that are relevant to INFANT including:
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Strategy 2021.
- National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021.
Your task
Submit a comment to share how you have used any of these existing policies to support INFANT implementation in your area in the Comments section below. Are there any other policies or strategies that fit with your local INFANT program to support the health and wellbeing of new families?
Read through the comments from others and responses from the INFANT team for further ideas. Click the ‘mark complete’ button once you’re ready, then select ‘next lesson’ for the next step.
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We are incorporating INFANT into our first parent groups and offering a 2nd session once the babies are 6-8 months of age. Parents are really enjoying the sessions and information given.
I enjoy providing parents with the Obesity Policy Coalition information that “kids are sweet enough” to try to empower parents to think again about using package food over fresh food when delivering INFANT to our community. I agree with many previous comments we are attempting to fine tune the knowledge of the educated in most group settings.
INFANT is presented towards the end of our New Parent group sessions and we offer some additional sessions run by community dietician
we are offering INFANT and promoting the app
Infant compliments and enhances the Introduction to Solids session that we run in our NPG. The different age group components work really well and we have had a lot of positive feedback.
Our Allied health and HP teams are supporting 2 councils implement the INFANT
BMI is indeed very tricky and not necessarily a helpful tool when applied in pregnancy. We find our antenatal team (and the software they use) recalculate BMI throughout a pregnancy which isn’t a valid use of the BMI and can be very frustrating for clients.
I agree wholeheartedly with comments re: breastfeeding and obesity prevention. Having such normalised use of ultra processed foods (including artificial baby milk) is a big challenge.
Similar to some others already, we have been holding the 3 month session with first time parents group that MCH are running and is well attended.
Will be interesting to see the research results and how this ties in with RESPOND that our LGA has to participate in next year.
IT problem today
In the EMCH service we are offering INFANT opportunistically and are promoting the app,
We’re currently in the planning phase of implementation in our patch. INFANT is recognised as an action in local Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan, as well as our Community Health – Health Promotion plans.
I think that starting with more focus on healthy weight in pregnancy might help clients to be open to ongoing discussion when we see them in MCH. Perhaps INFANT could look at creating a pre-natal module to introduce the concepts.
Hi Mandy
Great suggestion. The My Baby Now app does start in pregnancy with a focus on health and well being for mum and anticipatory guidance for breastfeeding. We did a recent pilot and found that it was very well received, particularly for our less educated mums who struggle to decipher credible information on the internet. We are now looking at ways we can try and embed this within antenatal services.
Rachel (INFANT team)
Despite talking about INFANT and WHO guidelines at the 8 week KAS and again at the 4 month KAS I am finding parents are still introducing solids early. I am finding the parents attending the INFANT sessions are often already equipped with some knowledge and we are ‘preaching to the converted’. While there is a lot of other information already offered in the antenatal space, it is never too early to be introducing the key messages to prevent obesity starting with a stronger message to encourage breastfeeding.
Hi Liz ! Yes, we tend to find that our families are mostly highly motivated re. health and fitness in Torquay. Not so consistent in our rural areas.
We are offering the first session of INFANT as part of our first time parent’s groups.
Also some online sessions from our Supported playgroup facilitator and community Dietician.
Also promoting The My Baby Now app.
We are offering the first session of INFANT as part of our first time parent’s groups.
Also some online sessions from our Supported playgroup facilitator and community Dietician.
Also promoting The My Baby Now app at groups and Kas visits.
Most parents are aware of the general requirements for fruit and veggies each day but are unsure of how to incorporate this into their diets as many families in our area have very poor nutrition knowledge and limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables. INFANT sessions are helping to build their knowledge and increase their confidence with preparing healthy food options.
I feel the families I see are mostly from high socioeconomic backgrounds and therefore have a good understanding of what they need to feed their children.
The difficulty comes from children who refuse to eat what is provided and reassuring parents that this is quite ‘normal’ behaviour.
Healthy Kids and Healthy Futures – more opportunities to be active throughout the day as families get out more post COVID with lots of encouragement for community based activities like playgroup.
My Baby Now App is well received by the families I work with. We are able to deliver INFANT at the 4 month KAS visit as well as through FTPG.
The key messages of Infant Program have been very easily incorporated into KAS appointments and FTPG. We offer all four age group sessions at City of Whittlesea across a number of different areas. The My Baby Now app is fantastic and families are finding this adds a great layer of information and something they can continue to refer back to.
INFANT aligns neatly within the Healthy Kids, healthy Futures Plan, with the focus in Priority 3 of this document promoting parents connection to MCH services. Although the INFANT program is being used only within the EMCH program in Cardinia Shire, as a Universal nurse who has undergone the training, I find I use the key messages from the INFANT program most clinical days when discussing diet and nutrition with families
Infant has been implemented in Nillumbik via online sessions for 6mths, 9mths and 12mths. These sessions are targeted for first time parents, but they have also been useful for families with more than one child. The My baby now app is a wonderful evidence-based resource for parents, I refer many families to it even if they do not attend Infant sessions. We get many clients enrol but they don’t always attend sessions and numbers do drop as parents have to return to work.
In the Healthy Kids, Healthy futures plan, one of the key guiding principles is
‘A focus on primary prevention to build the foundations for good health’.
By implementing INFANT principles into our education from initial contact with families from birth to preschool age, we are facilitating this process.
I am not aligned to a child and family health service however INFANT is an evidence- based program that is recognized by the Communities for Children program which funds our service. Located in NSW, there doesn’t appear to be any places offering INFANT. In the healthy lifestyle programs, I run with families, I am promoting the My Baby now app and it’s great to see that anyone can now access it.
Our area is now training to implement INFANT as apart of our new parent groups and then the 6, 9, and 12 month group sessions will be conducted by a dietician from our Community Health Team and an MCH nurse together.
Being a small regional team of MCHN’s it has been tricky to facilitate the 6, 9 and 12m sessions following on from the initial one in the FTPG. But we have continued to reinforce the app and information and the KAS visits and now we have employed more staff hope to be able to focus on delivering the extra sessions moving into next year. We have also had a dietician commence at the local GP practice and she has been invaluable for referrals for families who are struggling a little with food and mealtimes at home and if we could get her on board to help facilitate sessions particularly the older ones we may reach more families.
The mybabynow app is utilized as a secondary resource for parents to further refer too post the initial discussion based around the entry of solids. Additionally referral into the facilitated sessions are also provided as options for parents if needed.
Health messages are simple to explain to and be understood by most parents. INFANT has been incorporated into our NPG and also at 6, 9 and 12m for the first time this year. Attendance with the later groups has been mixed due to many parents RTW.
Recruiting other allied community networks to facilitate INFANT has been challenging though. Messages align with the obesity prevention and Heathy Futures objectives for the whole family, not just the babies/children it is aimed at. I am surprised that more info re the importance of encouraging breastfeeding has not been included.
Infant was introduced specifically to met the needs of first time parents regarding positive diet and life style education that discussed issues that have an impact on obesity and poorer health outcomes.
It also provided an opportunity to collectively educate local maternal child health nurses on the promotion of healthy eating and lifestyle choices. The aim to provide consistency in educational and health promoting messaging across the clinical centres.
Some great comments and usage of INFANT !
Further to Marcia’s comment and your response Rachel it would be great to see the linkage of the strategies and alignment of the targets particularly in relation to infants and children. I’m keen to understand how the intended target of at least 50% of babies are exclusively breastfed until around 6 months of age by 2025 is to be achieved?
With 1 in 4 young children 2-4 years old overweight/obese the role of the MCH service is so important and emphasizes the need to focus early.
It is great to be able to direct families to the My Baby Now App following on from Infant group sessions or discussions around feeding and introducing solids in KAS consults.
I have worked in different settings where INFANT is introduced to the initial New Parent Groups. It has worked well initially, however, numbers tend to reduce when parents begin to go back to work.
INFANT introduces the idea of ‘parents provide children decide’ which is so valuable for develop positive feeding dynamics within the family. When parents take leadership about what food is provided and that this will improve their child’s eating in the long run, it can be very empowering. It becomes easier to reduce pouches or provide vegetables more often when this understanding of the ‘division of responsibility in feeding’ is front of mind.
Paediatric dietitians (like me) exist in community health services to support parents to develop relaxed family mealtimes. We love receiving referrals from our local MCHNs.
Being able to discuss this evidence-based programme with families and refer them to the My Baby app is wonderful resource to be able to direct parents to
I feel the INFANT programme has been very well received in Nillumbik and many families have benefited from the programme
We are still piloting Infant and have been introduced and implemented through First Time Parent Groups where parents are introduced to key concepts of healthy eating and activities for their babies. However, due to smaller numbers and rural areas our first time parent groups are a mixture of age groups, so we are looking to have separate groups also and use the framework to pilot in a one specific town.
We are currently not offering INFANT in our service however information is shared and the app is promoted to families
We incorporate key messages from INFANT within our FTPGs and a 6-12m Food-Play-Sleep sessions and Baby’s First Foods Sessions.
It is great to see the renewal of policies and the way they influence this program. I also support Marcia’s comment about BF, obesity needs to be addressed in the antenatal period with more support for healthy pregnancies and appropriate referrals for overweight and obese women in pregnancy – obesity is a sensitive subject and I find families can be quite offended at times when addressing the BMI charts.
Hi Rebecca. BMI is always a difficult conversation to have. I agree that normalising addressing it through out pregnancy might take some of the sting out when we start to discuss it.
Our council is yet to implement Infant, however Infant key messages are still very useful to provide parents this knowledge and confidence. It would be great to see more famiies be offered in a group setting, in NPG or similar.
INFANT is being used as apart of our new parent groups- we are now offering the sessions to our community with great success.
At Moyne, we are not yet offering INFANT either, however we recommend the app during first parents groups. I hope we can soon roll out the program.
I’ve been rolling out the INFANT sessions for Stonnington. Parents have identified the following challenges – phasing out bottles, concern that child won’t sleep through the night, not getting enough food during the day. Increased use of screens in the family home. The INFANT program has been great to discuss these concerns and ways to address them. Second what Sally has mentioned about use of pouches – we are having this discussion with parents around looking at the ingredients list (hidden sugars), use of pouches only in emergencies, importance of moving onto lumpier textures
I con’t think of specific policies that support the implementation of INFANT at our Council as there are many that support, intersect and enhance the work of INFANT.
As previously mentioned it is great to be able to discuss infant program at KAS visits and then have supported b referring to My Baby Now app and followed by clients taking part by attending infant program in several venues offered at City of WHittlesea
We have been including INFANT as part of NPG. Have found it a good to link areas as they all relate and have found it useful to promote My Baby Now App. We are now rolling out other sessions in Stonington.
Infant allows MCH nurses to empower parents through education, to support their baby’s healthy growth and physical and cognitive development.
I use the Infant Program key messages when discussing feeding & introducing foods during KAS appointments. It is great to then be able to direct families to the My Baby Now App where I know they will get the same education & messaging around healthy eating & active play for their babies. We are very lucky to have been able to direct families of 3m, 6m, 9m & 12m old bub’s into Infant Program sessions running monthly for many years here @ Whittlesea.
Post pandemic, I have found that feeding 1-2 meals a day from suckable sachets almost the norm for many parents now. So many of them seem to struggle with anxiety when it comes to feeding infants and toddlers.
While INFANT is recognised in the Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures policy, I would love to see part of this strategy recommend ‘User Suggestions’ on these prepackaged infant foods, along the lines of “Not recommended for use more than once a day / Not a replacement for real food’ etc.”
The INFANT program is very timely post pandemic. I have found that feeding 1-2 meals a day from suckable sachets almost the norm for many parents now. So many of them seem to struggle with anxiety when it comes to feeding infants and toddlers.
While INFANT is recognised in the Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures policy, I would love to see part of this strategy recommend ‘User Suggestions’ on these prepackaged infant foods, along the lines of “Not recommended for use more than once a day / Not a replacement for real food’ etc.”
At the City of Whittlesea, like others have mentioned, we have had the opportunity to provide the program for families outside of their KAS appointments in specific groups like Infant and/or FTPG to support their journey and implement the messages within the KAS framework.
Being able to refer families to the Infant program that is offered at 4 venues in City of Whittlesea is a great innovation as it ensures that caregivers are already confident & knowledgeable in serving ideal first foods & beyond.
Caregivers find the App. helpful & use it as a ready reckoner when shopping.
I would like to see more emphasis placed on BF for at least 6m’s, ideally until
12m’s. However families have different factors influencing this.
We’ve have been implementing INFANT since January. Session 1 has been offered within our New Parent Groups (face to face) the following sessions have been offered online via zoom. We are excited to be offering these sessions face to face next year as we increase our parent support services team.
INFANT has been great for our community as we have been impacted with limited service capacity.
The Child and Family team at Access Health and Community (Dietitian and Speech Pathologist) have conducted INFANT in partnership with the Manningham MCHNs. Two pilot groups were conducted via telehealth due to COVID. Positive feedback was received from parents however numbers declined by the 12 month session. We are conducting another two pilot groups primarily with vulnerable families. These sessions will be face to face and our Physiotherapist will also be involved in some sessions.
We have just started offering INFANT program this year in our council, Ararat Rural City and have had positive feedback from our parents. Share the app with our families in KAS visits.
As many others have already commented, I also work at the City of Whittlesea where we offer the infant program.
Our advice within the kas framework also uses Infant key messages
In our council we offer INFANT but I also find that I draw upon my knowledge gained from doing the course throughout KAS visits and first time parents groups.
City of Whittlesea offers the Infant program, 3, 6,9 and 12 months sessions. It is good that families do not rely only on KAS appointments to learn more about nutrition and play. The My Baby Now app is beneficial as it contains a wide range of information around feeding- playing and sleep. I like that it has some recipes too which is quite handy for parents.
Council offer’s Infant Program. The information can also be used in the KAS consultations.
Infant can be introduced at First Time Parent Groups where parents are introduced to key concepts of healthy eating and activities for their babies. This can then follow on with the next sessions for further updates.
The parents who have been to the INFANT program are already so knowledgeable about the healthiest options for feeding their babies when they come to their KAS consults
using key messages in daily consults with clients, the My baby app helps to enforce the messages
At COW we consistently run infant program. We would like to see better attendance, Covid has slowed things down.
At Whittlesea we consistently run infant program. We would like to see better attendance, Covid has slowed things down.
it is benificial being able to refer families to the infant program that is a offered at 4 venues in city of whittlesea plus have parents use the app
City of Whittlesea offers the Infant program and we are promoting the App in our KAS and FTPG.
The Indigo Shire offers the INFANT program in partnership with Beechworth Health Service & Indigo North Health and RESPOND, another Deakin University Program. Both programs aim at improving the health and wellbeing of all children in the Indigo Shire. Each targeting different age groups.
INFANT program is offered through the MCH Universal service and in partnership with local health services.
INFANT program is offered through the MCH Universal service and in partnership with local health services. Practical cooking experience.
We have also implemented INFANT as a great joint project between the council and health service which fits with our Joint Council Plan/Municipal Public Health and wellbeing plan. it will also continue under the Deakin RESPOND program as a joint obesity prevention initiative.
Offering all 4 infant sessions in our council .MCHN.
We have just started offering all 4 INFANT sessions to our community. Have been doing session 1 for 3 months in the FTPG. The app is great too
Infant gives a great message. I work with feeding difficulties at RCH and often refer parents to the My Baby Now APP
I have enjoyed using the key messages of INFANT in my daily practice with clients. I do hope the consistent messaging will what Professor Helen Milroy states ” yield better outcomes than trying to intervene much later down the track when things are more difficult to change”.
I do think and hope INFANT messages are helping to bridge the gap between research and practice enabling hopefully the outcomes in line with emerging evidence.
Although our council is not offering INFANT, it is mentioned/referred to frequently, recommending website as well as the app.
In the parent support service I have shared the App and discussed topics and videos relevant to parents questions.
National Obesity Strategy 2022-2023 does not address one of the most important preventative factors for obesity – exclusive breastfeeding for around 6 months and continuation of breastfeeding into the second year of life.
Good point Marcia. I think one of the reasons is because there is a separate National Breastfeeding strategy. However I agree with you that supporting breastfeeding is critical to promoting healthy weight gain and obesity prevention. INFANT team
In the universal service we are not offering INFANT but we are promoting the app, I hope in the future all families can access the course.
We are trialing INFANT within our EMCH service, although this comes with challenges with attendance. It does give opportunity for connection and sharing of ideas for families who have faced food insecurity or come from a background where home cooking was not a feature. I have not had to pull policies into it’s implementation as it came before me, I can see how INFANT sits within the policies intentions.