An evaluation of the Healthy Little Minds parent and infant programme
Anna Iskander-Reynolds, Zoë McHayle, David Woodhead and Katie Yau
Perinatal mental health problems can have a devastating impact on both women and their families. Women living in poverty or with experience of trauma face higher risks of experiencing mental health difficulties in the perinatal period. Targeted parenting support for families in poverty can reduce safeguarding risks and have long-term wellbeing benefits across generations.
Here for as long as you need us shares the evaluation findings of the Healthy Little Minds programme in Nottingham, which delivers early support to strengthen parent-infant bonding and boost parents’ mental health. Most of the families supported by Healthy Little Minds live in the city’s most deprived areas.
Families facing complex challenges might struggle to stay engaged with support services. To address this, Healthy Little Minds offers a “here for as long as you need us” approach, reassuring families that they can reach out whenever they are ready without fear of judgement.
The report finds that support from Healthy Little Minds led to significant reductions in anxiety and postnatal depression. Parents reported that they felt more connected to their children, with activities such as psychotherapy and baby massage helping unsure or anxious caregivers to feel more in tune with what their baby needed.
By offering flexible support, not limited by number of sessions or long waiting lists, Healthy Little Minds was able to build strong, trusting relationships and deliver more effective care. And through their early intervention and prevention approach, the programme has economically benefited the wider system by reducing the need for additional mental health and educational interventions, which are typically more costly.
Research indicates that the period from conception to age two is critical in a child’s life. The Healthy Little Minds programme provides a model of support that could therefore have a transformative effect on families for generations to come.
