Early Head Start serves pregnant women and their families in a variety of service delivery models and in diverse settings. A healthy pregnancy has a direct influence on the health and development of a newborn child. Early Head Start strives to have the greatest impact on participating children by offering supportive services as early in life as possible.

Early Head Start provides services to pregnant women and their families and through the child’s first three years of life.

The prenatal period of growth and development has a lasting impact on the child’s potential for healthy growth and development after birth. Early Head Start Home-Based Program options provide services to pregnant women and their families and through the child’s first three years of life. Early, continuous supports and services provide the best opportunity for:

• healthy pregnancies and positive childbirth outcomes;
• supportive postpartum care for the parents and child;
• fully involving fathers in the lives of their very young children; and
• nurturing and responsive care during infancy.

The SETA Early Head Start programs provide prenatal information through classes, support groups, and home visits on the following subjects:

• fetal development, including the risks from smoking and alcohol;
• labor and delivery;
• postpartum recovery, including information on maternal depression; and
• the benefits of breastfeeding