Government urged to keep babies safe amid pandemic

More than 40 mental health, family and children’s charities and professional bodies are calling on the government to urgently consider how these infants can be safeguarded during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The group, which includes Family Action, NCT and the Parent-Infant Foundation, issued its plea in response to decisions taken by some local areas to redeploy at least 50 per cent of staff that would normally support parents and babies.

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Such a move has seen skilled professionals from perinatal mental health and parent-infant teams as well as health visitors move into other health services as part of a nationwide response to tackling the virus, the group said.

The organisations, which form part of the First 1001 Days Movement, claim some babies and toddlers face huge risk as a result of increased pressure on already vulnerable parents and the scaling back of specialist support services.

The group is calling for these vulnerable families to be given particular attention by the government during the coronavirus crisis to avoid serious immediate and long-term consequences.

In a joint statement, the charities said: “It has already been widely recognised that for some people, home is not a safe haven.

“Across the UK, there are babies and children in lockdown in poor-quality and overcrowded housing, with shortages of basic supplies, cared for by parents under immense pressure.

“Babies, born and unborn, are particularly vulnerable to physical and emotional harm because they are at a critical stage in their development, are fragile, totally dependent on adults for their care, and unable to speak out or seek help.

“Therefore, it is essential that the government is keeping their needs in mind.”

It is calling on the government to:

• Ensure that the physical and emotional needs of the youngest children are considered more explicitly and transparently by decision-makers during the Covid-19 crisis

• Provide clarity on who in high-level decision-making forums, such as Cobra, is representing the needs of babies and their parents

• Provide clear guidance for health and social services on maintaining vital support for families which would minimise the redeployment of staff from community services

• Ensure that the strategy to end the lockdown considers the needs of babies and their families and the services that work with them

Sally Hogg, head of policy and campaigning at the Parent-Infant Foundation and co-ordinator of the First 1001 Days Movement, said: “For a long time, charities, professionals and parliamentarians have called for there to be a senior minister in government with clear responsibility for the wellbeing of children, beginning in pregnancy.

“Perhaps if such a person had been in place, we would have seen more attention paid to the needs of the youngest children in response to Covid-19.”

Supporting the group’s statement, Anne Longfield, children’s commissioner for England, said while young children seemed to be at lower risk of contracting coronavirus, they were vulnerable to many secondary risks.

Worth reading with tens of thousands of babies born in England during lockdown so far. A significant number of them born into families with considerable pressures on them even before it came into effect https://t.co/7hLbifX4Tq

— Children's Commissioner for England (@ChildrensComm) April 9, 2020

“Lockdown places additional pressures on parental mental health, family finances and relationships, and leaves families without their support networks.

“Families with vulnerable young children need help in caring for, bonding with and supporting the development of their babies and toddlers,” she said.