"We, the undersigned presidents and ratepayers of Marong and Districts formally request Council to reinstate the Maternal and Child Health Services in Marong"
Community Health
- Marong is a community of young families. 2016 Census data records 57.5% of the Marong population being aged 34 or younger. This trend has continued to grow in the following years.
- Being a new parent can be an anxious and isolating experience, being able to develop relationships with a local Maternal and Child Health Services nurse is particularly important to the health of both the parent and child.
- Maternal and Child Health Services play integral roles in immunisation and baby/toddler development assessments.
- Maternal and Child Health Services are provided within the Marong Kindergarten facilities. The Kindergarten Educators believe this was an ideal situation in allowing young children to develop familiarity and therefore facilitate a smooth transition into Kindergarten through their health checks with the Maternal and Child Health Service.
Community Connectedness and Wellbeing
- Maternal and Child Health Services were provided within the Marong Kindergarten facilities. The Kindergarten Educators believe this was an ideal situation in allowing young children to develop familiarity and therefore facilitate a smooth transition into Kindergarten through their visits to the Maternal and Child Health Service.
- The Maternal and Child Health Services of Marong were within walking distance for parents. Removing this service impacts on community wellbeing. There’s no-one stopping and saying ‘hello’. Lockdowns and Covid restrictions during 2020 have shown us the importance of incidental social connectedness in communities.
- Marong has NO public transport which limits the capacity and ease with which some parents can access Maternal and Child Health Services.
5 Comments
Loved it out in marong where I could WALK to my appts, and also book in for drop off/pick up school/kinder times and already be there! Such a shame it was moved!
In a growing community it seems ludicrous to be taking services away.
The maternal health nurse was the first local contact I met when I moved to Marong, the service was conveniently located and didn’t require me to travel far. We became familiar with the kinder before my son started there the following year and we were already comfortable in the environment. I had all my maternal health visits there for my youngest daughter and developed a good and comfortable relationship with the nurse. I am a busy mum of 4 busy children, two of my children have special needs and I know from experience I need extra support and community connection when I’ve had a baby. Living this far from Bendigo is isolating and inconvenient enough without me needing to travel further for services that were already here when I moved. If I were to have another child at this time I would not be taking the time out of my days to travel that far to use maternal health services unless it was absolutely necessary. It seems as though the lack of community support for new parents will contribute to poor mental health outcomes and potentially a lack of education from the information sharing that usually happens during regular maternal health visits. Marong is an area of high population growth, full of young families that need to be able to fully utilise the services of child and maternal health. This an important important, valuable service being removed from an area that has the potential to grow even bigger provided it keeps the infrastructure it already has and then continues to grow, this decision feels like a backwards step in the progress of Marong and it’s surrounding areas.
This is a much needed service in a growing community.
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"We, the undersigned presidents and ratepayers of Marong and Districts formally request Council to reinstate the Maternal and Child Health Services in Marong"
Community Health
- Marong is a community of young families. 2016 Census data records 57.5% of the Marong population being aged 34 or younger. This trend has continued to grow in the following years.
- Being a new parent can be an anxious and isolating experience, being able to develop relationships with a local Maternal and Child Health Services nurse is particularly important to the health of both the parent and child.
- Maternal and Child Health Services play integral roles in immunisation and baby/toddler development assessments.
- Maternal and Child Health Services are provided within the Marong Kindergarten facilities. The Kindergarten Educators believe this was an ideal situation in allowing young children to develop familiarity and therefore facilitate a smooth transition into Kindergarten through their health checks with the Maternal and Child Health Service.
Community Connectedness and Wellbeing
- Maternal and Child Health Services were provided within the Marong Kindergarten facilities. The Kindergarten Educators believe this was an ideal situation in allowing young children to develop familiarity and therefore facilitate a smooth transition into Kindergarten through their visits to the Maternal and Child Health Service.
- The Maternal and Child Health Services of Marong were within walking distance for parents. Removing this service impacts on community wellbeing. There’s no-one stopping and saying ‘hello’. Lockdowns and Covid restrictions during 2020 have shown us the importance of incidental social connectedness in communities.
- Marong has NO public transport which limits the capacity and ease with which some parents can access Maternal and Child Health Services.
5 Comments
having to drive all the way into town for a quick check up is a nightmare with a screaming baby. bring it back to marong please!!!
Loved it out in marong where I could WALK to my appts, and also book in for drop off/pick up school/kinder times and already be there! Such a shame it was moved!
In a growing community it seems ludicrous to be taking services away.
The maternal health nurse was the first local contact I met when I moved to Marong, the service was conveniently located and didn’t require me to travel far. We became familiar with the kinder before my son started there the following year and we were already comfortable in the environment. I had all my maternal health visits there for my youngest daughter and developed a good and comfortable relationship with the nurse. I am a busy mum of 4 busy children, two of my children have special needs and I know from experience I need extra support and community connection when I’ve had a baby. Living this far from Bendigo is isolating and inconvenient enough without me needing to travel further for services that were already here when I moved. If I were to have another child at this time I would not be taking the time out of my days to travel that far to use maternal health services unless it was absolutely necessary. It seems as though the lack of community support for new parents will contribute to poor mental health outcomes and potentially a lack of education from the information sharing that usually happens during regular maternal health visits. Marong is an area of high population growth, full of young families that need to be able to fully utilise the services of child and maternal health. This an important important, valuable service being removed from an area that has the potential to grow even bigger provided it keeps the infrastructure it already has and then continues to grow, this decision feels like a backwards step in the progress of Marong and it’s surrounding areas.
This is a much needed service in a growing community.
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having to drive all the way into town for a quick check up is a nightmare with a screaming baby. bring it back to marong please!!!