Footscray’s Tweddle Child & Family Health Service is inviting people to join its 95th anniversary celebrations.
Opening as a baby hospital in 1920, Tweddle today supports more than 4000 families facing parenting challenges, which are often compounded by health issues, addiction, violence or sleep deprivation.
Betty Hassold, who joined Tweddle as chief executive in 1988, spent 15 years at the helm.
She guided its transition from a baby hospital and training facility for mothercraft nurses into a service providing programs that help parents learn the skills to care for their babies.
“The biggest transition was the change from focusing on children alone. It was all very well for the staff to fix the kids up, but the parents need to be there for the rest of their life. So we started admitting parents as well,” she said.
“People coming from England and America would say how lucky we were; they had nothing like this.”
Tweddle began offering education programs enabling people to discuss their situations while remaining in control.
Ms Hassold said Tweddle was one of the first places to acknowledge that settling babies and getting sleep was such a widespread problem.
She added that modern parenting had thrown up a range of new challenges, which the service strives to help families tackle.
“Having a new baby, it is such a wonderfully happy time, but it doesn’t always go as you expect.
“As mothers are older and having babies later, their expectations of babies are higher and they’re discovering it’s not rational; it’s all emotional,” she said.
“These days, there are more drugs and things families have to face. Drugs and alcohol are a problem in our society so they are a problem for families, too. It’s just very different, and I suppose it will keep changing.”
As part of its 95th year celebrations, Tweddle is looking for families or staff with a Tweddle story to tell. The service is also planning to launch a concept plan for a new family health and wellbeing hub for Melbourne’s west.
Tweddle will celebrate its 95 years with a family day at Footscray’s Whitten Oval from 11am to 2pm, Sunday, October 18.
Details: www.tweddle.org.au
