The IWK Health Centre provides care to women, children, youth, and families living in the Maritimes and beyond. The "Women’s & Newborn Health" tab includes information about having a baby, newborn health, infant feeding, breast health, women’s health and more.
From the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, this site covers such topics as fertility & human reproduction, health & nutrition before pregnancy, what to expect during pregnancy, the labour & delivery process, and how to care for yourself & your newborn.
From the Public Health Agency of Canada, this resource will help you to learn about planning a healthy pregnancy. Topics include: prenatal nutrition & folic acid, alcohol & pregnancy, physical activity & pregnancy, smoking & pregnancy, oral hygiene, and emotional health. A pregnancy calendar is given to track your pregnancy.
From Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN Ontario) comes a variety of helpful links and resources from across the country. Topics include: pre-pregnancy, early pregnancy, mid pregnancy, late pregnancy, labour & birth, the postpartum period, and caring for your newborn. You can also download the free OMama app.
Information about your pregnancy and birth, your baby’s development, getting off to a healthy start, and what to expect for you and your baby in each trimester. You will also learn about different periods after having a baby, including the postpartum period, birth to 6 months, and 6 to 12 months.
Everything you need to know about breastfeeding, including general information, access to helplines across the country, and answers to breastfeeding questions. You can also search for a leader in your province, ask questions online, and share your feeding and parenting stories with others.
This free and confidential referral service links you to programs and services in your community by phone, online, or text messaging. For example, searching “prenatal and parenting” shows organizations that offer supports, programs, and services that are taking place in your local area and their contact information.
From the Canadian Mental Health Association, this site provides supports and resources to improve mother’s mental health. A list of programs/resources which are available locally, across Canada, and internationally are available to women who are thinking about becoming pregnant, are pregnant or have become a new mom.
Call 811 to speak to a registered nurse around the clock, seven days a week. The nurses can give you information and advice about health, answer questions about your health concerns, and provide information about services in your area. This free service is available in over 125 different languages including Farsi, Cantonese, French, Chinese, and Arabic.
This site provides tips for parents when choosing a daycare, allows parents to search for licensed daycare facilities, how to apply for subsidy, inclusion support, and intervention services in NS.
Children & Teens
Essential Starting Points for Children & Teen Information
Child Safety Link is a Maritime wide program at the IWK. They work to prevent injuries by providing resources to parents, professionals, and the general community. Main focuses are car seats, home safety, helmets, poisoning prevention, and playground safety.
From The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto; evidence-based information for parents and children. Includes info on how the body works (with animated video and quizzes), life stages, and education. All information is in English, French and simplified Chinese, plus lots of info in more languages.
Healthychildren.org is backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and provides parenting advice on ages & stages, healthy living, safety & prevention, family life, health issues, news, as well as tips & tools.
Charitable organization committed to providing 24/7 help to children and teens experiencing mental health issues. Info sheets written in plain language on a variety of mental health topics. Also provides a "Resources Around Me" link where you can search for supports near you.
Information on disorders, brain injuries, understanding stigma, healthy sleep, the teen brain, suicide, teen behaviour, mental health emergencies, as well as resources for friends, health professionals, educators, parents.
Clinical program with the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University. This program provides services for young people between the ages of 15-35. It lists specific signs and symptoms for when to contact them and resources for getting help in Halifax and throughout Nova Scotia.
This site is a non-profit initiative of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) dedicated to improving the mental health of children, youth and families in partnership with the IWK. It provides a directory of mental health services - you can search your location and topic. It has info sheets and screening tools to find out if you or a loved one has a mental health concern.
Provides resources, links, what to do if you are being bullied, importance of digital citizenship, etc. Also provides a link to an online reporting form where parents/guardians or students can fill out a form to report bullying or cyberbullying at their school.
A Canada-wide network of researchers and organizations (government and not-for-profit) focused on making sure children and youth in every community receive the latest evidence-based research on bullying and the most effective intervention techniques.
Mindyourmind.ca is a program of ConnexOntario (a program by the Government of Ontario) that provides people with access to addiction, mental health, and problem gambling services. It provides apps and tools for people aged 14-29 to build capacity and resilience.
This brochure created by Rainbow Health Ontario provides tips and resources for advocating for a Gender Independent Child in schools and health and social service settings.
The IWK Drug Information Service is a resource for Maritime health professionals who practice in and outside of the IWK Health Centre. It exists to support the safe and effective use of drug therapy in pediatric and obstetrical patient populations, including post-partum and breast feeding patients.
From the Government of Canada comes plain language information targeted to youth on a wide range of health topics such as cannabis and mental health, smoking, substance abuse, etc.
Information on how to stay healthy, nutrition advice, coping, specific conditions, health check tools, ages and stages, questions to ask your doctor, etc.
A list of articles created by TeensHealth from Nemours (a non-profit children's health system with doctor-reviewed advice) that explains how body processes and systems work. All articles are written in plain language for teens.
The Youth Project is a non-profit charitable organization in Nova Scotia dedicated to providing support and services to youth, 25 and under, around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Youth Project travels around the province to meet with youth in their communities. They provide a variety of programs and services including support groups, referrals, supportive counselling, a resource library, educational workshops, and social activities.
This site has tips for talking to your children about sex at different age groups, gives a list of sexual health topics, and also gives helpful tools such as webisodes (e.g., videos that show parents dealing with their child's questions about puberty, birth control, etc.).
Sex education site created to provide teens with practical, inclusive, comprehensive, and supportive resources on sexuality and relationships. Inclusive of LGTBQ+
This PDF includes a list of resources compiled by the IWK. Topics include: essential general health guides for youth and families, parenting a transgender child video links, books for parents and families, books for teens, books for kids, youth and family websites, local drop-in centre: the Youth Project, social media, school and teacher information, legal gender marker and name change, clinician resources: practice guidelines and books.
A Canadian source for trusted, evidence-based and timely information on women's health. Contains feature articles on health topics that affect Canadian women. Expert answers to women's health questions. Discussion forums for women to share stories and experiences as well as send questions to experts at Women's College Hospital.
This page directs you to patient resources on such topics as HPV info, menstruation, contraception, pregnancy, etc. Their material has been reviewed and endorsed by the SOGC’s subject matter experts.
A broad range of information for the public as well as health professionals. Includes links to hundreds of articles on topics ranging from alcohol to weight control to reproductive health and workplace safety. Includes healthy living tips, leading causes of death, and health statistics. Articles written for easy reading are identified.
Basic information on depression, anxiety, keeping your mind sharp later in life, and other topics. Gives a useful list of resources (links to other sites) under Resources tab.
Topics include diseases and conditions, caregiving, wellness, staying active, mental health, sexual health, safety and abuse, falls, drugs and alternative medicince, paying for health care, and planning your future.
Easy to read articles on healthy aging, and conditions that often affect older adults. Brief articles cover a broad range of topics of interest to older adults and those who care for and about them.
Speak Up: start the conversation about end-of-life-care. This workbook provides an introduction to advance care planning as well as tips on how to begin the process of thinking and talking about the patient's wishes should they not be able to speak for themselves.
Resources and tips for good health in later life for older women. Tools and tips on such topics as osteoporosis, prevention, safety, mind and brain health, medications, managing your care, and health conditions.
Caregivers
Essential Starting Points for Caregiver Information
Formerly known as the American Association for Retired Persons, this site provides comprehensive information on a wide variety of health topics for those providing care to others. Topics range from tools and tips to articles on how to cope with caregiver stress, accessing leave from your employer, and planning for long-term care for loved ones.
Information on services for caregivers in Nova Scotia on such topics as financial matters, legal issues, health crisis planning, and local health organizations and much more.
Non-profit organization that connects caregivers to resources, forums to connect with other caregivers, tips, and a list of agencies and organizations that provide assistance.
Fact sheets on a range of health topics, articles on caregiving issues & strategies, statistics & demographics, as well as fact sheets in different languages.
This site helps you easily organize meals and help for friends and family in need. With the Help Calendar, you can post requests for support - things like meals for the family, rides to medical appointments, or just stopping by to visit. Members of your community can quickly find ways to help, and Lotsa will send reminders and help coordinate logistics automatically so nothing falls through the cracks.
Trusted and reliable information from the National Institutes of Health. Provides journal articles, general information, and related issues surrounding caregiving.
Information from Family Caregiver Alliance on how to assess a care situation, develop a care team, hold a family meeting, access community organizations and private agencies, and balance work and caregiving.
Information from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation about adaptable housing design. This guide identifies the types of difficulties seniors can experience in the home and describes adaptations to overcome these difficulties.
Tips for how to prepare for caregiving journey, suggestions for reducing caregiver stress, and suggestions for helping people with Alzheimer's Disease.
This site provided by programsforelderly.com lists many documentaries on aging and caregiving. It features the joys and sorrows of people who share their loved one's dementia journey.
Healthychildren.org is backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and provides parenting advice on ages & stages, healthy living, safety & prevention, family life, health issues, news, as well as tips & tools.
Created by a partnership with The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), this website provides professional guidelines for practitioners in Canada. From the top menu, select 'For Practitioners'.
App to help communicate quickly with patients using translated medical phrases in Spanish, Chinese, French, Arabic, Russian, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and more. Show phrases with written translations, and play with audio.
Advance Care Planning Workbook - Nova Scotia Edition
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