Parental help is most effective when it starts at conception

The importance of attachment, with a loving and secure relationship between a child and its parents, is well recognised in enabling strong emotional development and wellbeing. It has a direct impact on the child’s capacity to form positive relationships with others in later life. But the importance of brain and language development has often been overlooked. Research conducted by the trust shows that up to 80 per cent of brain development takes place by age three. Although developments continue beyond that age, if children don’t get the best start, they will always be trying to catch up.

Conception to Age 2 places a welcome spotlight on the importance of this period. Children’s early experiences create the foundations of healthy development and resilience that will last a lifetime. During the first few years of a child’s life, the brain is developing rapidly. The latest neurological research indicates that neurons and the connections between them change in response to external signals, enabling the brain to respond to new experiences and therefore develop further. The developing brain of a baby is shaped by both the quality of the infant’s relationship with its parents and the home learning environment. Infants become securely attached to adults who are consistently sensitive and loving in social interactions with them.

With the security of knowing that the primary carer is emotionally available, the child grows in confidence to explore the surrounding world, including the learning opportunities of nursery and school. However, children don’t stop learning and developing just because the adults in their lives are not able to offer them the positive relationships and support they would hope for. On the contrary, children who experience poor attachment and support learn from just that – experiencing anxiety and a lack of positive affirmation as the norm. In practice, programmes such as the Family Nurse Partnership are based on a deep understanding of these issues, working with young mothers.

However, many different professionals are well placed to support children at this early stage of development. The likes of council strategic planners, health and wellbeing boards, early years professionals, academies, police and crime commissioners, and troubled families’ key workers all have to pay more attention to the crucial period from conception to two. 

The Big Lottery Fund has recognised this through its programme Fulfilling Lives: A Better Start. Expressions of interest have been pouring in from local areas eager to use the investment to develop early intervention approaches for babies and children from pregnancy through to their third year. Three to five areas within the UK with a population of 50,000 people will receive funding of up to £10m each for eight to 10 years. This has the potential to create an intensive programme of support. Areas must show evidence of deprivation and high levels of need among children, but also demonstrate their commitment and intentions to bring about “systems change” in the way local agencies work together. The chosen areas will have the chance to demonstrate a new way to design and deliver services for the very young for the long term.
 
Tackling causes of problems at their root will be central to any new approaches. Within this must be a strong focus on the wellbeing of the mother at this time of change and often vulnerability. Antenatal anxiety has a knock-on effect – children of mothers with the highest anxiety levels double their risk of suffering from emotional or behavioural problems, including ADHD and conduct disorder.

Studies show that mothers whose depression had lasted beyond six months have fewer positive interactions with their baby than mothers whose depression has been resolved within six months of birth. A depressed mother may struggle to provide the desirable or necessary level of stimulation – touch, talk, gaze, read and play – required in the early years for a child’s linguistic and cognitive development.

There can also be an increased incidence of domestic violence during or shortly following pregnancy. A survey of 1,207 women attending GP surgeries in Hackney found that pregnancy in the past year was associated with an increased risk of current violence. So providing early support is crucial for mothers and parents too if their children are to get the best start possible.

Good experiences during the “age of opportunity” aren’t necessarily an inoculation for life, but they are vital. Our policy and practice must now ensure services during this crucial time take centre stage.

Anne Longfield is chief executive of 4Children