Leadsom’s plan to give every baby best start to life ‘going great guns’
A ONE-stop shop providing support for new parents is proving to be a bundle of joy just a year after the scheme was launched, says early years adviser Andrea Leadsom.
The former Cabinet minister led a long-running campaign to set up the help and advice programme covering the first 1,001 days of a baby’s life.
And in an exclusive interview with the Daily Express, she revealed 75 local authorities are ready to roll out “Start For Life” services next month.
Ms Leadsom said: “I want to make sure every baby, wherever they live, is supported to get the best start for life. It’s just going great guns.”
Parents-to-be and those with newborns will be able to get wide-ranging support at family hubs.
The former Tory Party leadership contender said the initiative is to help address the feelings of isolation and anxiety many can feel during pregnancy and the first months and years of parenthood.
Ms Leadsom’s Early Years Healthy Development Review was released in March last year with full backing from the Government.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak allocated £500million to the project in the autumn Budget and a Start for Life Unit was set up in Whitehall to oversee the rollout.
Ms Leadsom added: “A year on from the review some authorities are already rolling out their Start For Life vision.What the unit has been doing is developing each of the services: mental health support, breastfeeding support and parenting programmes.”
The mother of three, 58, is encouraged by the public’s response, saying: “The feedback of parents and carers is so amazingly positive. The approach we’re taking, with the baby at the centre of everything, is heartening to parents.
“We’re looking at how to completely de-stigmatise support in the early years by making it universal. When expectant parents go for their first appointment with a midwife, that should be in a family hub so they can be shown support is available and they can meet some other parents.”
The MP added: “One of the worst things for new parents about having a baby is the feeling of isolation, not knowing anybody else and being stuck at home.
“Engaging with people, making the service welcoming, that’s really at the heart of this.
“It’s going from strength to strength and the lovely thing is that a lot of authorities are already using the report to redesign the services they offer. The other important thing we have done is to have a really valuable focus on support for dads.”