Over 2,200 low-income pregnant women to get care packs, confinement meals under $6.5m initiative

SINGAPORE – Over the next three years, more than 2,200 pregnant women from low-income backgrounds will receive care packs, grocery vouchers and mental health support through a $6.5 million donation from DBS Foundation.

It has partnered early childhood initiative KidStart to roll out the Pregnant Mum and Baby Nutrition Programme to give infants from lower-income households a better start in life, even before they are born.

The programme, which will be launched on Sept 29, will support mothers from their pregnancy to their children’s first year.

The prenatal care pack will include items such as milk, chicken essence, a pregnancy pillow and a nursing shawl. The mothers will also receive $300 worth of supermarket vouchers.

After giving birth, they will receive confinement meals for 10 days. Mental wellness and financial literacy workshops will also be held for the mothers and their families.

To be eligible for the new programme, families must be registered under KidStart.

They must also have a monthly household income of no more than $2,500, and an expected delivery date on or after Sept 1.

Mr Joel Tan, chief executive of KidStart Singapore, said: “Lower-income mothers are almost 3.5 times more vulnerable to clinical depression and anxiety, and this vulnerability transmits to their unborn child with effects persisting up to 4.5 years of age.”

This was one of the reasons KidStart and DBS Foundation launched their first prenatal programme for lower-income mums.

“Beyond the child’s first year, we’ll continue to support parents in nurturing healthy eating habits by distributing breakfast packs and organising nutritional workshops,” he added.

Speaking at the launch event at the School of the Arts, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said the Government will match DBS Foundation’s donation under the SG60 SG Gives matching grant.

The Government will give $1.50 for every dollar from the foundation.

The $9.75 million grant will be made available for key social and community programmes, such as KidStart, to apply for.

At the event, dozens of pregnant women and their families attended workshops on mental health and financial budgeting.

Among them was Ms Aisha Sithika, who is five months into her pregnancy and is the main breadwinner of her family.

She said that the financial literacy sessions would be most helpful to her.

“I tend to buy items in bulk, but I learnt that may not be suitable because infants grow up fast,” said the 30-year-old who also has a toddler.

As for Ms Nur Nadia Nasri – who is expecting her fourth child – she is looking forward to the confinement meals and the mental health support.

“Maternal mental health is important to take care of, but I’ve not been sure how to approach it,” said Ms Nadia, 29, who is nine months pregnant.

When she had her first two children, Ms Nadia struggled because she did not have enough support, and she had different views on parenting from her husband.

“I struggle with adapting to a new kid. I hope that the mental health support will help me become more confident in welcoming my kid,” added the housewife, who has three boys aged three to six.

She is also grateful for the 10 days of confinement meals, having had to prepare her own food after giving birth in the past.

“In my last three pregnancies, I had no help with food prep and had to cook confinement meals myself. That gave me less mental capacity to focus on the newborns,” said Ms Nadia.