EDGEWOOD, Ky. (WKRC) – Child health experts said if you want to help your child from the very beginning, start reading them books from the time they're born. A local hospital is getting some extra help with that take-home assignment.

The American Academy of Pediatrics shows reading with children starting in infancy gives literacy a boost for life.

You might recall in 2020, Local 12 shared a program related to books and babies that started in the NICU.

“George was a good little monkey and always very curious,” read former Local 12 anchor Rob Braun. Braun helped launch that NICU program.

Now, there’s a newer program at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. The new program is called the Pampers Bright Beginnings Reading Initiative, bringing books into the birthing unit for all new moms.

"There are studies called 'the million-word gap' where we know if babies aren't read to, that by kindergarten, the baby couldn't have heard a million words,” said Terri Wilde, the postpartum unit nurse manager at St. Elizabeth Healthcare.

The goal is to give every mom a book at the very beginning of their baby’s life to stress the importance of reading to babies from birth.

"What we do is each baby gets a book. We admit the mom and the baby two hours after baby is born to our unit,” said Wilde. “We present them with the book and a gift from Pampers.”

The message is similar to that of the neonatal intensive care unit.

“It's a wonderful time for our nurses to be able to talk to the parents about the importance of reading and how that helps with growth and development,” said Wilde.

It’s also a reminder that while it’s never too late to learn, it’s also never too early.