Literacy news

Families to be given personal introduction to Sure Start for advice during pregnancy and beyond

16 Mar 2010

Expectant parents will be invited to attend a children’s centre and assigned a personal contact to give them advice and support from before their child is born and beyond into their pre-school years.

The Government also wants services to recognise the importance of involving fathers and making families feel welcome, for example, by extending provision for new parents to stay overnight with newborns where appropriate.

Other measures in the review include:

• ‘A family start’ meeting inviting families to meet with a health visitor or healthy child team between the 12th and 26th week of pregnancy.
• Considering whether to offer mothers-to-be the right to choose where they give birth in the NHS constitution
• Extending the family nurse partnership to all young, vulnerable families within five years, subject to evaluation
• Promoting the benefits of talking and reading to babies and infants
• Providing advice on nutrition and smoking to expectant parents.

Health secretary Andy Burnham said, “A child’s lifelong health, happiness and achievements are heavily influenced by their experience before birth and in their earliest years. That’s why it’s important that we give all families the support they need, and that they know what they are entitled to and can expect throughout pregnancy and beyond…We know that accessing services early can make a big difference in helping new parents to be better equipped to make choices about their care and, ultimately, in improving outcomes for the baby.”

(Nursery World magazine)

Tags: Partners in Literacy, Talk To Your Baby

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