Pregnancy

This topic provides evidence-based resources and current best practices to ensure the healthiest outcomes for a woman and her baby before, during, and after pregnancy, focusing on areas such as environmental health, maternal healthy weight, and maternal oral health.

Oral Health

Pregnant women are prone to dental problems because elevated hormone levels cause gums to swell, bleed, and trap food. Up to 30% of pregnant women have advanced forms of periodontal disease (severe gum disease).

Alcohol

The majority of Canadians use alcohol at social events, with meals, or because they like the taste and how it makes them feel. Alcohol, even with moderate use, can affect fertility, and increase a person’s risk for cancers (e.g., breast, esophagus), heart disease, stroke, depression, or injury. Alcohol affects men, women, and young people differently. Teens and young adults are especially vulnerable because their brains are undergoing rapid change. If alcohol is used in pregnancy, unborn babies are at risk of lifelong difficulties with social, behavioural, physical, attention, and learning difficulties. Research shows alcohol can affect the genetics of future generations.

Smoking and Tobacco

Tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke can lead to many health concerns. The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute offers information on the effects of exposure to tobacco smoke for youth. Preventing exposure to tobacco smoke is one of the ways that youth can promote and support long-term health.

Infants

New parents should educate themselves and seek out resources on appropriate care and safety techniques such as rear-facing, properly installed car seats, laying a baby on his or her back to sleep, taking time to just play with baby, and breastfeeding.

Sexual Health

is concerned with the well-being of individuals. It recognizes that individuals have responsibilities, and are affected by each other and by the social environment in which they live. Sexual health education is one important aspect of health promotion.

Safety

Although the vast majority of injuries are predictable and preventable, deaths and hospitalizations due to injury continue to occur at high rates. Between 2004 and 2013, there were on average 68 injury-related deaths of Saskatchewan children and youth under the age of 20 each year. For every Saskatchewan child who died due to injury, approximately 24 children were hospitalized. The goal of this topic area is to raise awareness of injury risks and best practices to reduce the number of injury-related deaths and decrease the risk of life-altering injury.

Passenger and Vehicle Safety

Injury and death to children in motor vehicle collisions is of significant concern in Saskatchewan. A critical prevention component is the correct and consistent use of child restraints. The Prevention Institute provides provincial training of child passenger safety technicians and education to other professionals and the public on this important topic. The goal of this program is to reduce death and injury to children resulting from motor vehicle crashes.

Parenting

The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute strives to raise awareness, increase knowledge and promote attitudes and best practices that assist parents to raise healthy, safe, and happy children.

Mental Health

Mental health is key to our well-being. We can’t be truly healthy without it. It involves how we feel, think, act, and interact with the world around us. Mental health is about realizing our potential, coping with the normal stresses of life, and making a contribution to our community.

Domestic Violence

Young children are especially vulnerable during incidences of intimate partner violence because they are small, unable to protect themselves, and likely to be home when conflict is occurring.

Child Development

We can all help children develop the skills that they need for healthy development in early childhood.