Dealing with intergenerational trauma amongst new parents

It is encouraging that the package specifically picks out the government’s recent commitment to ensure that babies and unborn babies will benefit from the new domestic abuse framework once the Domestic Abuse Bill becomes law.

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As the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP said at the launch of ‘Start for Life’, this is only the first stage of what is needed. There is now a once in a generation opportunity for all organisations working with parents and babies to grasp the nettle of dealing with intergenerational trauma. Otherwise we run the risk of too much of the precious resources available being used to manage the fall-out rather than deal with the root causes.

It is great to hear that Phase 2 of the review will dig deeper to understand the barriers for parents in giving their baby the best start, with one of the main being domestic abuse. 

We recently commissioned research of over 2,000 parents in the UK, which highlighted that domestic abuse affecting parents is far too prevalent, especially during pregnancy and before babies reach the age of two. 

It highlighted that 40 per cent of parents who experienced domestic abuse said it occurred during their baby’s first 1001 days from pregnancy until the baby’s second birthday. 

We also found that 40 per cent of parents who experienced abuse during pregnancy or the first two years of their child’s life didn’t feel able to seek professional help during this time. That figure increases to 47 per cent for parents for whom there was domestic abuse in their family home at any time before they were 18. Only 10 per cent received professional help at the time. They reported feelings of shame, worry about experiencing more abuse as a consequence and not knowing how to talk about the situation, as reasons.

Raising a baby can be an amazing, positive and life-changing experience but it can also be a real challenge, particularly if the parents have had a traumatic childhood or are in an abusive relationship. This isn’t inevitable, there is another way.

The life-changing experiences of parents who have been through our programme, For Baby’s Sake, show how supporting vulnerable families in the earliest years contribute to the government’s levelling up agenda. 

Babies still in the womb, who feel the impact of domestic abuse too, must also be counted. Intergenerational trauma needs to be deeply understood - it has taken hold of people for years. It's time to give parents the support they want and need to break cycles of domestic abuse and give their babies the best start in life.

Amanda McIntyre is chief executive of the For Baby’s Sake Trust