Fayette County Public Health launches Facebook virtual baby shower series

Fayette County Public Health gave its annual baby-shower idea a digital reset on April 29, launching a Virtual Baby Shower series on Facebook that swapped a single room full of guests for daily posts, trivia questions, baby-themed games, and prizes for local families. The move turned a one-time gathering into a repeated touchpoint, giving the agency more chances to share maternal and infant health information while parents checked in on their own schedules.

That matters in a county where parents can be pressed for time, tied to work shifts, childcare, or transportation limits. A Facebook format lets Fayette County Public Health meet families where they already are, and it lowers the barrier to participation because parents can respond from home, share posts, and join the activity at their own pace. The tradeoff is obvious: a virtual shower cannot replace the face-to-face connection of a crowded community event. But it can broaden reach, especially for families who would not be able to make one set time and one physical location.

The agency’s calendar listed a Community Baby Shower Planning Committee meeting on April 29, a sign that the online series grew out of an ongoing planning process rather than a one-off social post. Fayette County Public Health’s main office is at 317 S Fayette St. in Washington Court House, and the agency has already shown that baby-focused outreach draws a crowd.

In August 2025, Fayette County Public Health and community partners hosted an expanded Community Baby Shower that welcomed 49 families and 122 guests at Washington Middle School. The event, timed to National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, offered diapers, wipes, clothing, blankets, breastfeeding support information, and other maternal-and-child-health resources. Karyn Tucker, the WIC director, said the shower was a community effort and that expansion helped reach more families.

That earlier in-person event also showed how broad the network around the program had become, with support from WIC, Family Connects, Help Me Grow Home Visiting, Help Me Grow Central Coordination, the Fayette County Board of Developmental Disabilities Early Intervention program, the Fayette County Department of Children’s Services, The Pregnancy Center, Fayette County Early Learning Center, and OSU Extension Fayette County. A preview for that shower said it ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Washington Middle School Cafeteria, 500 S. Elm St., and was open to Fayette County expectant parents or families with a child six months old or younger.

The Facebook series keeps the same mission in a different form. By pairing prizes with daily interaction, Fayette County Public Health can keep baby-related education visible for days instead of letting it disappear after one event, and that sustained rhythm is likely to benefit the parents who need flexibility most.