Bringing home a newborn can be a challenge for parents even if they have read baby books and taken the advice of mothers and mother-in-laws.

The Casper-Natrona County Health Department wants to make sure new parents have another resource to help them get through the first few months.

The health department will begin its Baby Classes April 1 with a class on communicating with your baby. The three-part series will also cover breast-feeding and keeping your baby safe.

Registered nurse, Velma Corson, said the health department saw a need for this type of community service.

Nurses were receiving a wide range of questions from new parents and organizations that work with families and were looking for parenting classes for their clients.

Some places offered prenatal classes. Others offered baby classes but to only a specific population.

No one was holding baby classes for the general public.

"People say, 'I have my baby, now what?'" Corson said. "We are filling in the gap. This is a follow-up to the prenatal classes."

The department designed the program to follow its three-month prenatal course, Ten Moons Rising.

Corson will teach the breast-feeding class because she is a certified lactation counselor.

As a lactation counselor, Corson helps first-time and even second-time moms breast-feed and problem solve when things go wrong. She said a big part of her job is reassuring mothers that what they are going through is normal.

The classes will include some basic instruction, Corson said, but a good portion of each class will be spent answering parents' specific questions.

Lori Saunders, another registered nurse will teach the baby safety class.

"I want to make parents aware of their surroundings as the baby gets more mobile," Saunders said. "I want them to open their eyes and get down on their babies' level."

During the class, she will show parents how to properly use a car seat and what objects not to put in a crib.

She will talk about how to prevent choking -- babies who crawl around will put anything in their mouths -- and how far apart crib slats should be to prevent a baby's head from getting stuck.

She will also warn parents about baths.

"We like our bath water hot," Saunders said. "If we put our baby in the same temperature, it only takes about six seconds for the baby's skin to burn."

Many parents do not realize all the dangers their growing baby can get into, Saunders said.

"You can read a book, but you can't really picture these things happening when your baby is still in your belly," Saunders said. "When you have him in your arms, you realize your baby can get in a lot of trouble."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.