The Growing Strong: Feeding You and Your Baby resource is used throughout Queensland for use with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. It provides consistent, evidence-based nutrition information for pregnant women, infants and young children. The aim of Growing Strong is to improve the quality and effectiveness of information delivered by health workers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

The Growing Strong resources consist of a series of 22 brochures and an A3-size flipchart. These have been developed in response to the statewide evaluation in 2005 of the original Growing Strong resources. The brochures can be used in a clinical setting and the flipchart can be used in group settings. The resources use straight forward language and colourful illustrations that are appealing to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The resources also include a manual that is used as a reference tool for health workers.

Topics addressed in the resources include breastfeeding, introducing solid foods, childhood overweight and obesity, and the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The role fathers and grandparents can play when providing food and care to children is also included.

The Growing Strong resources will be used in conjunction with the Northern Area Health Service Chronic Disease Child Health Checks (0–4 years of age) planned for 2008. It provides an opportunity to use the resources as a tool to conduct brief intervention to parents and carers.

To assist with the implementation of the Growing Strong program, a two-day training workshop for health workers will be delivered that will provide background information on maternal and infant nutrition.

The Growing Strong resources are in the final stage of redevelopment and will be implemented in 2008.