Corbyn Mercanti is nearly three weeks old. He’s got blue eyes, and a loving mom – like many of the babies born in Fort St. John.

Fort St. John has one of the highest birth rates per capita in Canada, according to Jane Neher, the Devlepment Coordinator with the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation.

According to the maternity ward, 631 babies were born in 2011 – which is 124 more than were born in 2001.

Before Corbyn made his appearance, his mom, Tansey O’Connor, made all the preparations a first-time expecting mother should.

She took pre-natal classes, which O’Connor found to be extremely helpful.

“She went through everything,” she said of her pre-natal instructor as Corbyn spit up on her.

As her pregnancy was coming close to its grand finale, O’Connor bought a car seat.

“It doesn’t come with any information,” she lamented. “[The only information] is what’s written on the side of the car seat.”

O’Connor was nervous, so she spoke with a friend in Courtenay, who happens to have four children. She recommended O’Connor call her local fire department because that’s where she went in Courtenay.

But the expectant mother was told that the Fire Department no longer does that here in Fort St. John.

Craig Faulkner, a member of the fire department, confirmed what O’Connor was told. The person who used to do it in this area left about three years ago.

Though they’ve talked about having someone certified to install car seats, there has been no action taken.

Faulkner recommends new parents call the health unit or the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) for installation.

“No one does it here,” said O’Connor, who called the RCMP, ICBC and the health unit.

ICBC gave her a 1-800 number, she said, and the maternity ward suggested she check Youtube videos.

“I felt lost,” O’Connor told the Alaska Highway News.

Feeling exasperated, she finally used social networking to figure it out.

“I posted on Facebook, and asked if any of my Facebook friends knew of anyone in town,” O’Connor said.

She finally had a friend help her install it.

“I really don’t even know for sure it is correct,” she said, “but it looks right.

“It’s in there solid.”

Car seat installation was O’Connor’s biggest frustration, though a lack of retail outlets also proved to be a challenge.

“A lot of stuff I bought was second hand,” O’Connor said. “Thrift stores are great for baby stuff.”

She said she travelled to Grand Prairie to purchase many of the items she needed.

Jenny Kucy recently became the program coordinator for Baby’s Best Chance in Fort St. John. Baby’s Best Chance is a province-wide program, which provides nutrition and health counselling, food supplements and vitamins, peer support and referrals to community and professional service for new moms.

She said she hadn’t heard anyone complain about the inability to purchase or get anything they needed. She agreed that because of the high baby population here, it was not hard to find second-hand things.

“For pre-loved stuff, you can really find lots,” she said.

“The support for babies here is overwhelming,” Kucy said noting the number of community resources available. “How wonderful it is to be in a close-knit community.”

The Baby’s Best Chance program can host up to 22 moms at a time, and Kucy noted that she’s not full right now.

“We provide a well-rounded education,” she noted. “As soon as you find out you’re pregnant, you ca do an intake and be accepted into the program.”

It’s tailored to pre and post-natal up to six months.

“The social advantage is so wonderful,” Kucy said. “It helps new moms feel like they’re not isolated.”

She said for young families looking for information on any events or resources in the area to check out familyfriendlycommunity.ca.