Healthy Beginnings

Healthy Beginnings is an Australian early-intervention initiative focused on supporting families to promote healthy growth and help prevent childhood obesity. Developed in 2007 by researchers and health promotion specialists from Sydney Local Health Districts and the University of Sydney, the original program was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Its randomised controlled trial tested a home-based approach for first-time mothers in disadvantaged areas of South Western Sydney.

The trial delivered eight visits by specially trained community nurses, from pregnancy through a child’s second year. Visits provided guidance on infant feeding, nutrition and physical activity, alongside advice on parent-child interaction, parenting and family support. Building on this work, the Communicating Healthy Beginnings Advice by Telephone (CHAT) study offers free brochures and either text-message or telephone support, with mailed materials timed to a baby’s developmental stages. The resources address feeding, nutrition, active play and parent-child relationships. Healthy Beginnings also provides parenting booklets, information sheets, research publications and cultural adaptation resources.