Early Notification of Pregnancy- Lancashire

Vulnerable mothers-to-be in Lancashire are receiving pre- and post-natal support from health and education professionals at their local children's centre, in a programme that aims to reduce their isolation, improve their parenting skills and boost the prospects of a safe and happy childhood for their baby.

The support is targeted at women at high risk of stress or isolation, such as teenagers, lone parents, young people leaving care, victims of domestic violence, women who already have three or four children under five and those or who do not have English as a first language.

"It's about the earliest of interventions, ….to reduce infant mortality," says Dot Smith, Sure Start integrated services and partnership manager for Lancashire County Council. Many infant deaths and injuries occur in families with vulnerable women, who have often received very poor parenting themselves.

Called Early Notification of Pregnancy, the process starts with midwives notifying children's centres of all local pregnancies. At the mother's first ante-natal appointment - at the children's centre, hospital or clinic – she completes with the midwife an Early Notification Form, in which she gives permission for the local children's centre to get in touch.

Contact from the children's centre is made early on in the pregnancy - by a home visit in some of the most deprived areas. The mother is then encouraged to attend the centre for ante-natal clinical care from a midwife and for childcare and parenting advice from other staff, as well as support from other mothers. She thus builds up a relationship of trust with the centre, which continues once the child is born. Other services, such as Jobcentre Plus and housing advice, are also available.

Amy, who has long had a difficult relationship with her mentally ill mother, was "shocked" to find herself pregnant at 18 - and kicked out of the house. For her, the Westgate children's centre has become almost a home from home. She started going there when she was pregnant and, once her son Ashton was born, found it gave her vital support in the difficult early days.

"At one point I was here every single day, at different groups and courses, so it kept me busy and gave me a reason to get dressed in the morning," she says. "After having the baby, I had quite down days and stuff. So it just kept me going, really.

Today, she looks after Ashton confidently and is much more cheerful. "Through the children's centre, I've got certificates, and I know what I want to do, and they've shown me a way that I can do it with having a child, and I've started my NVQ, and hopefully that's a brighter future for me and for Ashton," she says.

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