The impact of parent-infant relationship teams
Introduction
This is the first dedicated report to summarise the latest research about the impact of specialised parent-infant relationship teams.
Evidence is critically important for growing the number and quality of parent-infant teams and services across the UK.
The Parent-Infant Foundation is working with stakeholders to support the development of new research to grow the quality and scale of the evidence base.
Diversity of evidence sources
This report brings together three different types of evidence to consider the impact of specialised parent-infant relationship teams in the UK:
- Large scale meta-analyses and systematic reviews of parent-infant relationship interventions typically offered in parent-infant teams.
- Practice-based evidence and local service evaluations of parent-infant teams.
- Mapping of services offered by parent-infant teams with guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
The Parent-Infant Foundation believes that drawing on a diverse range of knowledge and evidence can build a stronger picture of what works for whom and in what contexts, which can ultimately improve outcomes for babies.
What is a specialised parent-infant relationship team?
Specialised parent-infant relationship teams (also referred to as parent-infant teams in this report) are multi-disciplinary teams with expertise in supporting and strengthening the relationships between babies and their caregivers. Parent-infant teams generally work at two levels:
- They are expert advisors and champions for parent-infant relationships with the local workforce. They use their expertise to help the local workforce to understand and support parent-infant relationships, to identify issues where they occur and take the appropriate action. This happens through offering training, consultation and / or supervision to other professionals and advice to system leaders and commissioners.
- They offer direct parent-infant relationship support to families. This includes targeted work with babies, mothers, fathers and caregivers experiencing emerging relational difficulties, and specialist therapeutic work with families experiencing severe, complex and / or enduring difficulties in their relationship, where babies’ emotional wellbeing and development is particularly at risk.
The impact of specialised parent-infant relationship teams
The evidence suggests that parent-infant teams help babies and their caregivers across three domains. These inter-related domains are critically important for the healthy development of babies now and for future outcomes:
The interventions typically offered by parent-infant teams are highly effective at supporting caregivers to be more responsive, sensitive and attuned to their baby’s needs. The evidence from local research and service evaluations of parent-infant teams is consistent with what we know about evidence-based and effective interventions from national and international research.
The quality of the parent-infant relationship impacts babies’ brain development, early physical health and emotional wellbeing. Early interactions between babies and their caregivers also support the development of language, emotional regulation and other capacities that enable children to reach their potential, both in education and in work.
The evidence of interventions and local service evaluations suggests that levels of anxiety, depression and stress in caregivers can be significantly reduced through involvement with specialised parent-infant relationship teams.
Associations between parental mental health difficulties and adverse outcomes for babies are evidenced in the short-term. The longer-term impact of parental mental health difficulties are also evident in children’s social, emotional, behavioural and cognitive development.
Interventions typically offered by specialised parent-infant relationship teams support babies’ social and emotional development. Local service evaluations indicate that risks to babies and young children, including those with serious safeguarding concerns, can be decreased through involvement with a parent-infant team.
Helping babies meet their early developmental milestones promotes their wellbeing now, places them on the trajectory for positive longer-term physical and mental health and helps them to achieve their learning potential.
Conclusions and recommendations
The impact of specialised parent-infant relationship teams is evidenced by a range of national and international studies, local service evaluations and research, and national clinical guidance.
The evidence suggests that parent-infant teams help babies and their caregivers across three domains; strengthening relationships between babies and their caregivers, improving the mental health of caregivers and supporting babies’ early development and wellbeing. These inter-related domains are critically important for the healthy development of babies now and for future outcomes.
While there is now extensive recognition of the impact that parent-infant relationship problems can have on all aspects of the child’s later development, there is currently inadequate provision to meet the needs of babies and caregivers. At the time of writing this report, there were 45 parent-infant teams across the UK, as well as 14 more teams in development. Estimates suggest that more than a tenfold increase would be needed to provide access to specialist support in all parts of the UK. See our 'Policy briefing: Response to the major conditions strategy’ for more.
The evidence supports growing the number of parent-infant teams to meet the needs of babies and caregivers at a time when rates of mental health conditions in children are rising and many are falling behind in developmental and early learning goals.
‘When different forms of evidence can “speak” to each other, we can build stronger, more useful knowledge on which we can act.’
Dartington Service Design Lab (2022)
Three recommendations for future research are:
Existing evidence from large-scale studies and meta-analyses of parent-infant relationship interventions is positive. However, in keeping with other fields of psychology and mental health research, more high-quality studies are needed which consider the efficacy of parent-infant relationship interventions.
The consolidation and expansion of specialised parent-infant relationship teams, and the development of the Start for Life Programme and Family Hubs, present more research opportunities into the local impact of parent-infant relationship teams and services.
Future research could work towards combining different types of knowledge and evidence to find the most effective ways of supporting babies, young children and their caregivers.
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