All babies count - NSPCC campaigns for better and earlier support for new parents
Last updated 1/13/2012 9:24:30 AM
All babies count - NSPCC campaigns for better and earlier support for new parents
Children's charity The NSPCC has launched its 'All babies count' campaign calling for better and earlier support for new parents.
The NSPCC says support for babies living in problem homes needs to be early and effective. The impact of early trauma, abuse or neglect is particularly acute in the first year of life and is linked to behavioural problems in childhood.
Factors such as domestic violence, mental health problems, and drink and drug dependency among parents are known to be important risk factors for abuse and neglect.
Whilst of course not all families with these issues neglect or harm their babies these types of family factors are important markers of risk. New figures published show that over 198,000 in the UK (one in four) are at high risk because they are born into homes with domestic violence, mental health problems, or drink and drug dependency.
Babies are eight times more likely to be killed than any other age group in childhood, the charity says. Two thirds of serious case reviews for infant fatalities or serious cases of abuse involve one or more of these problems. And over half the contacts to the NSPCC Helpline involve concerns about children in families with these issues.
The NSPCC is calling on the Government to ensure vital services in England are there when families need them. Its chief executive, Andrew Flanagan, said: "Evidence from early intervention programmes shows that intervening early can remove the future risk of abuse or neglect. And it also makes sound economic sense. Investing in preventing harm is a more effective way of spending money than trying to pick up the pieces of children's broken lives in the years after abuse has happened."