The Government of Nunavut’s Health Department announced Sept. 14 that its bassinet program is now available in the Qikiqtaaluk, Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions. The department says the program will provide each expectant parent in Nunavut with a new bassinet through the Newborn Wellness program.

Parents can register for both items at prenatal visits. In Iqaluit, the government directs people to Qikiqtani General Hospital; elsewhere, registration is through local health centres. The department says the wellness kit includes supplies and educational resources in all official languages. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

This is a territory-wide service expansion with a direct practical benefit for expectant families. The government says bassinets provide a separate, safe sleep surface for infants and are part of its Baby’s Safe Sleep campaign, which aims to reduce sleep-related infant deaths.

The existing government parenting information says babies should sleep alone on a firm surface beside a caregiver’s bed for at least the first six months. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

Expectant parents who want a bassinet or newborn wellness kit can ask their health-care provider at a prenatal appointment. The announcement does not give a registration deadline, delivery timing, supply limit, eligibility exceptions or regional distribution figures.

The Population Health Division partnered with Qupanuaq, a division of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, to expand the program, according to the Government of Nunavut. The government’s linked public-service-announcement document was checked but could not be rendered by the retrieval system; the published webpage contains the same core program details.

This is a launched service, not a proposal or pilot announcement.