- Online survey of 5,474 expectant mothers, new parents and parents of toddlers, undertaken during the pandemic, reveals almost 7 in 10 found their ability to cope with their pregnancy or baby had been impacted as a result of COVID-19
- Only one third expressed confidence in being able to access mental health support if required
- Nearly 7 in 10 felt the changes brought about by COVID-19 were affecting their unborn baby, baby or young child (with an increase in crying, tantrums and becoming more clingy). This was felt most sharply amongst parents under 25 years old and those on the lowest incomes
- Best Beginnings, Home-Start UK and Parent-Infant Foundation urge the Government to provide a ‘Baby Boost’ (£55m) to enable local services to better support families who have had a baby during the lockdown and to introduce a new ‘Parent-Infant Premium’ (£1,000 per baby in disadvantaged families) for local commissioners working to tackle early inequalities
- Without decisive action, they warn, the ‘post-COVID-19 lottery’ will worsen pre existing inequalities in the UK
05 August: Charity collective Best Beginnings, Home-Start UK and the Parent-Infant Foundation reveal key findings from an online survey of over 5,000 parents that highlight the chronic under resourcing of services for families, the inequalities in babies’ early experiences and its worsening forecast due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three charities – who all work to improve outcomes for parents and children with a focus on the early years – warn that many families with lower incomes, young parents and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, will have been hit hardest by the pandemic.
“We cover a vast area of Gloucestershire which includes some areas with high levels of socio-economic deprivation and other more affluent areas, but Covid-19 has blurred these lines and we have been noticing more and more struggling families from a wider variety of backgrounds and for a wider variety of reasons. We welcome this report and the pro-active support that is being put in place to allow us to work with as many families as possible to ensure children are given the best outcomes possible;” Commented Emma Desjardins, Home-Start North and West Gloucestershire Scheme Manager.
Home-Start North and West Gloucestershire is part of a national network of almost 200 local family support charities. Home-Start UK has come together with Best Beginnings and the Parent-Infant Foundation to show the impact of COVID-19 on families across the country. It is a picture that has been reflected in The Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury areas of Gloucestershire.
The results highlight a range of issues facing parents surveyed, revealing the devastating impact on babies as well as their parents, from increased mental health concerns and difficult birthing experiences, to dads and other co-parents being excluded from the pregnancy journey and digital health appointments reported as leaving some women feeling exposed and humiliated. The ramifications of the lockdown have been detrimental, and could cast a long shadow going forward for parents and babies alike.
Evidence shows that the first 1,001 days of a child’s life, from pregnancy to age two lay the foundations for a happy and healthy life. The support and wellbeing of babies during this time is strongly linked to better outcomes later in life[1], including educational achievement, progress at work, physical and mental health. Around 2,000 babies are born in the UK every day which means that over 200,000 babies were born between 23rd March and 4th July – the most intense period of lockdown.
According to the survey results, almost 7 in 10 parents (68%) felt the changes brought about by COVID-19 were affecting their unborn baby, baby or young child – reporting an increase in babies crying, having tantrums and becoming more clingy during this time. The survey results indicated that a change in baby behaviour was twice as likely to be reported amongst those on the lowest incomes, with under 25s particularly affected, with over half (59%) noticing their babies becoming more clingy during lockdown.
Furthermore, almost 7 in 10 (68%) parents surveyed said their ability to cope with their pregnancy or baby has been impacted by COVID-19, with nearly 9 in 10 (87%) parents saying they were more anxious as a result. The number of parents reporting increased anxiety correlated with those who had a lower household income. Yet only one third (32%) of respondents expressed confidence in being able to access mental health support if required.
The pandemic is not affecting all communities equally. Recent research published in the British Medical Journal[2] in late May found that pregnant Black women were eight times more likely to be admitted to hospital with coronavirus than pregnant White women, with pregnant Asian women four times more likely.
The charity’s survey also highlighted inequalities between respondents of different ethnicities. Their findings revealed that different communities were not enabled to access services and support equally, with Black and Black British respondents being less likely to visit their GP, use websites or online forums/support groups.
Following a decade of under-investment from central Government, services for babies, children and their families were already struggling to deliver the care and support that families need. The charities state that without decisive action, the post-COVID-19 lottery will worsen existing inequalities. While the majority of families in the UK prepare to transition back to normal life, “normal” for some babies and families was already disproportionately harder than it was for others and many now face a knock-on economic effect from the lockdown, further threatening their quality of life and life chances.
The three organisations have come together to share their findings, following the recent report by the Children’s Commissioner, and the Government’s vow to undertake a new review into Early Years Health (led by Andrea Leadsom MP). And to urge the Government to act now to avoid a “post-COVID-19 lottery” of British babies who do not get the support they need for a strong start in life. The three fiscal measures being asked for involve significant and ring-fenced funding to support the first 1,001 days, including:
- A one-off Baby Boost to enable local services to support families who have had a baby during or close to lockdown.
- A new Parent-Infant Premium providing new funding for local commissioners, targeted at improving outcomes for the most vulnerable children.
- Significant and sustained investment in core funding to support families from conception to age two and above, including statutory services, charities and community groups.
Alison Baum OBE, CEO and Founder of Best Beginnings, comments: “The report demonstrates firsthand the serious challenges faced by parents across the country at such an important time in their lives and in the lives of their babies.Without the support from loved ones and sufficient pre and postnatal care, many parents felt isolated and anxious. We must ensure that parents of all backgrounds receive the support they need, so they can look after themselves and have the knowledge, confidence and support to be able to give their children the best start in life.”
Peter Grigg, Chief Executive at Home-Start, states: “This report exposes how unequal the experiences of parents and babies to COVID-19 have been. There is an urgent need to build back better for all communities. These proposals for a Baby Boost and Parent Infant Premium represent clear, simple interventions that can be made now to help make sure we avoid a post-COVID lottery in the future. We want to improve the wellbeing of all babies to ensure a happier and successful next generation.”
Beckie Lang, Chief Executive at Parent-Infant Foundation, continues: ”Around 200,000 babies were born during the height of the lockdown, with many more just before and since. It is time for national leadership and a rescue, recovery and repair plan for the nation’s youngest children if we are to create a better, more equitable society in which more children can thrive. The opportunity to act is now.”
The full report is available at: www.babiesinlockdown.info
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Notes to editors
To contact Home-Start North and West Gloucestershire please email Liz Martens, Marketing Coordinator lmartens@homestartnwglos.org.uk
About the Baby boost
A one-off Baby Boost to enable local services to support families who have had a baby during or close to lockdown. The Government has announced £1bn new funding for schools to close gaps in achievement caused by COVID-19. This equates to around £112 per pupil.[3] A Baby Boost of this amount for every baby born during or close to lockdown would equate to £55 million across England. This money could be used to enable additional contact with families with very young babies, to meet the backlog in health visiting and GP appointments that have been missed, and to enable public services and charities to reach out to understand families’ needs, identify risks and issues, and offer support.
About the Parent-Infant Premium
A new Parent-Infant Premium providing new funding for local commissioners, targeted at improving outcomes for the most vulnerable children. The Parent-Infant Premium is modelled on the Pupil Premium, which enables schools and early years settings to close achievement gaps between disadvantaged children and the rest. Inequalities begin, and are often embedded, before children start school, with disadvantage typically widening with age.[4] We also know that home has a bigger impact on children’s outcomes in the early years than childcare settings.[5] There is therefore a clear argument for any premium payment aimed at improving the attainment of more disadvantaged children, to support services for families and interventions in the home in the earliest years of life. The Parent-Infant Premium would operate similarly to the pupil premium in many ways, but be adapted to fund support for families in the earliest years of life.
About the report
Best Beginnings, Home-Start UK and the Parent-Infant Foundation, commissioned Critical Research to work with them to gain insights into the impact COVID-19 is having on parents of all backgrounds from across the UK.
The online survey was live between 29th April to 3rd June 2020 and was actively promoted by a range of organisations and individuals to capture and represent the experiences of parents of all ages and backgrounds across the UK. The survey had 5,474 respondents: 1,480 respondents were pregnant: 91 were fathers and other co-parents: 800 had given birth during the lockdown: 3,903 were parents of babies under the age of two, 373 respondents were from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and 390 were parents who had a household income of less than £16k.
The survey was developed by Alex Rhodes and Alison Baum from Best Beginnings; Dr Nick Williams from Critical Research; Becky Saunders and Peter Grigg from Home-Start UK; Sally Hogg and Beckie Lang from the Parent-Infant Foundation; Dr Alain Gregoire and Emily Slater from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. The survey was hosted online by Critical Research and was promoted across the four nations of the UK via social media by the three charities’ that have authored the report, alongside many other national and local charities. Including the Maternal Mental Health Alliance and its members, members of the First 1001 Days Movement and members of the Early Years Digital Partnership. In addition, particular efforts were made to reach parents from seldom-heard communities by actively collaborating with diverse influencers and community connectors, seeding the survey outwards from these individuals and using their platforms to bring marginalised voices into the conversation.
About the charities
Home-Start UK
Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. Families struggling with postnatal depression, isolation, physical health problems, bereavement and many other issues receive the support of a volunteer who will spend around two hours a week in a family’s home supporting them in the ways they need.
Across all four nations of the United Kingdom, 13,500 home-visiting volunteers support over 27,000 families and 56,000 children to transform their lives. There are almost 200 local, independent Home-Starts working in 71% of local authority areas across the UK. Home-Start UK sits on the steering group for the First 1001 Days Movement.
www.home-start.org.uk
The Parent-Infant Foundation
The Parent-Infant Foundation is the national charity proactively supporting the growth and quality of specialised parent-infant relationship teams across the UK. There are currently only 30 across the UK. These are infant mental health teams that work with families experiencing severe, complex and/or enduring difficulties in their early relationships, where babies’ emotional wellbeing and development is particularly at risk.
Through collaborative leadership we: grow more local teams and support the sustainability of existing ones; increase the quality of parent-infant teams; generate evidence to create a compelling case for further investment; campaign at the national level on behalf of babies and their families. The Parent-Infant Foundation also provides the secretariat to the First 1001 Days Movement, an alliance of over 140 organisations, of which we are also a member. https://parentinfantfoundation.org.uk
Best Beginnings
Best Beginnings works to inform and empower parents of all backgrounds during pregnancy to their child’s fifth birthday, giving them the knowledge and confidence to look after their mental and physical health and to give their children the best start in life. In collaboration with parents, professionals, other charities and academics, we develop, disseminate and evaluate our core service, the free NHS-approved Baby Buddy app.
Through personalised and empowering daily information and 300+ films, Baby Buddy guides parents through pregnancy and early childhood and links them to other support including the 24/7 Baby Buddy Crisis Messenger service. In line with our commitment to reduce inequalities, Baby Buddy is a “Proportionate Universalism” intervention; universally available across the UK, it is disproportionately used by parents whose voices are seldom heard and whose children are at increased risk of poor outcomes. Best Beginnings convened the Early Years Digital Partnership, of which Home-Start UK and the Parent-Infant Foundation are both members and sits on the steering group for the First 1001 Days Movement, an alliance of over 140 organisations.
https://www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/
[1] Center on the Developing Child (2007). The Science of Early Childhood Development (InBrief). Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu.
[2] Knight, M. et al. Characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK: national population based cohort study : https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2107: BMJ 2020;369:m2107
[3] There are 8.89million children at school in England in 2020 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
[4] Asmussen, K., Law, J., Charlton, J., Acquah, D., Brims, L., Pote, I., & McBride, T. (2018). Key competencies in early cognitive development: Things, people, numbers and words. London: EIF.
[5]Melhuist, E and Gardiner, J (2020) Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to age five years DfE Research Report
[1] Center on the Developing Child (2007). The Science of Early Childhood Development (InBrief). Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu.
[2] Knight, M. et al. Characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK: national population based cohort study : https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2107: BMJ 2020;369:m2107
[3] There are 8.89million children at school in England in 2020 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
[4] Asmussen, K., Law, J., Charlton, J., Acquah, D., Brims, L., Pote, I., & McBride, T. (2018). Key competencies in early cognitive development: Things, people, numbers and words. London: EIF.
[5]Melhuist, E and Gardiner, J (2020) Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to age five years DfE Research Report