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Oregon's Public Health Nurse Home Visiting Program

Helping pregnant women, families and their babies get the care they need.

Babies First! is a nurse home visiting program for pregnant women and children up to age 5. Nurses visit you and your baby at home and can:

  • Answer questions about how to keep you or your baby healthy, and help know when to see the doctor
  • Sign up for health care and/or the Oregon Health Plan
  • Solve problems, or connect you to services you might need
  • Give information about what to expect as your child grows and develops
  • Check to make sure your child is learning and growing as they should
  • Help you keep your child’s teeth and smile healthy
  • Help you make your home safe for your child
  • Weigh your baby
  • Help with breastfeeding
  • Build a happy, loving and fun relationship between you and your child
  • Be the best parent you can be!

To find out if your county offers Babies First!:

  • Call 503-509-7255

More About Us

Babies First! is Oregon's public health nurse home visiting program for pregnant women and children ages 0 through 4 years and their caregivers with health and social histories that put them at risk for poor health and development outcomes. Working within a public health model, nurses provide over 25,000 home visits to more than 8,000 high-risk infants and children each year in Oregon through this program.

Our Vision

"The medical knowledge, skills, and resources we bring to clients gets us in the door...the relationships we form have the potential for empowering and healing."
- from an Oregon Public Health Nurse working in Babies First!

Our Mission

Public health nurses are the eyes and ears of our communities. They are conduits of information about an array of health conditions, and inform systems, communities, individuals and families. Their professional services are offered through a variety of programs administered through local county health departments and supported through the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division. Babies First! is one of a group of programs that support families. It is a statewide primary and secondary public health prevention effort for Oregon’s families with pregnant mothers, children 0 through 4 years of age, and their caregivers.

Our Goal

The goal of Babies First! is to promote health and well-being during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood through prevention and early identification of problems.