Babies and very young children

The best Start for Life vision has come from the Government's review into improving the health and development outcomes for babies in England.  The Review focused on the 1,001 critical days through pregnancy to the age of two.  These critical days are when the building blocks for lifelong emotional and physical health are laid down.   The document starts with the needs of the baby and describes 6 action areas designed to help make things easier for busy parents and carers.

In Cornwall the Council have developed Start for Life, their offer provides trusted help, advice and support from a range of services on your parenting journey from pregnancy until your child is two.  Because the early relationships between babies and their parents/caregivers are so incredibly important they provide some useful information about parental mental health and parent infant relationships which is available here.

The Parent Infant Foundation support teams across the UK to ensure that all parents and carers are supported to create sensitive, nurturing relationships with their babies to lay the foundation for lifelong mental and physical health.  They are part of the Manifesto for Babies which is published by the First 1001 Days Movement – a coalition of over 200 charities and professionals who believe that babies’ emotional wellbeing and development matters. They can connect you to organisations that can help.

Babies cry, you can cope.  When babies cry it can be stressful and overwhelming. Help is available from ICON for people who care for babies

Other sources of support

• Please also visit our health visiting page for information about your local team.  They can support families from late pregnancy until your child turns 5 years of age.
• WILD Young Parents Project are here to ensure a fair start for young parent families.
• Home-Start Kernow is a local charity which offers groups across Cornwall which are free to attend and allow parents to build connections, make friendships and gain confidence. They also offer home-visiting volunteers to families who need some extra support.
• More information from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance available here