PALMER — With her 3-year-old son in tow, Missy Gerry was one of dozens of Valley moms exploring her options Saturday for keeping herself and her children healthy at the Mat-Su Baby and Children’s Fair.

Gerry has been attending the fair for three years, and now that Gerry’s pregnant again — she’s expecting a Thanksgiving baby — she said the information gleaned from the vendors and Mat-Su Regional Medical Center has been helpful.

“I learned how to baby-proof my house,” she said about a previous baby fair, which is in its 11th year. “It helped me a lot to know what to expect when you’re expecting your first baby.”

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Now that she’s expecting her second, Gerry said her attention was caught by some of the new products and technology available to promote the health of babies and children.

Some of that technology was on display at the Geneva Woods Health Care Services booth, where an energetic David Johnston explained how a pair of unique products work.

The first is phototherapy light parents can use on newborns with jaundice. Instead of a baby spending more time in the hospital after birth to treat jaundice, some parents could take them home earlier and give the therapy there.

“The parents go right home after the birth,” he said. “You’d be surprised (how often) this is rented. We go through about three a week, and the mothers just love it.”

Of those stopping by Johnston’s display, “probably half have never heard of it,” he said of the phototherapy light.

“There is a lot of neat stuff for babies,” he added, showing off a nebulizer shaped like a panda. Made to aerosolize medications so young children can breathe them in, the device also has a pacifier that brings the flow of medicated air close to the child’s nose.

While many of the vendors and booths at the baby and children’s fair had large bowls of candy on them for the children, Johnston had a bowl of healthy strawberries.

Parents and soon-to-be parents also had access to information about child car seat safety, vision screenings and hearing screenings, said Pat Smith, director of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center’s Birthing Center. The fair also had DNA kits for children in case of abduction and height and weight measurements. The Palmer Lions Club brought its high-tech vision screening equipment, which can examine very young children.

Alison Hillman also had a good time at the fair. Expecting her first child, the Palmer resident said she wanted to learn more about what resources are available to new moms.

One of those resources, the MOMS Club of Palmer, was connecting with potential members, said Marilyn Goodman, a club member. With about 25 moms, the Palmer group helps provide support and activities for stay-at-home mothers, she said.

“Sometimes it’s a bit daunting to be home alone with the children all the time,” she said. “We’re here to let you know you’re not alone.”

Originally started as a baby fair, the event was expanded to include older children as well, said Kerry Aguirre, the hospital’s director of marketing and public relations.

“People look forward to this,” she said, adding that despite the fair happening on Easter Weekend, “we’ve had a good day.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.