Who are the Early Parenthood Specialist Nurses

The nurses within the service have specialist skills and knowledge of working with families in pregnancy and early childhood. They come from a variety of nursing backgrounds including Adult, Children’s and Community Children’s Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, Sexual Health Nursing, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health service and the Youth Justice Service.

It is the aim of the Blackpool Pregnancy and Early Childhood partnership that all families are supported to be the best they can be by receiving the right support at the right time from the right people. We know that sometimes people who have had challenging or difficult life experiences may benefit from some extra support and encouragement as they start or continue on their journey into parenthood.

The Early Parenthood Service will therefore offer support to:

• Parents who have had very difficult experiences within childhood into adulthood, some of whom may be care experienced
• Parents with children no longer in their care
• Parents who are under 17 years of age
• Parents who are isolated with limited or no support from family or peers
• Parents who have additional support needs and/or disabilities and may require help to provide consistent care
• Parents who have higher levels of vulnerability and whose lifestyles may often be characterised by high levels of risk, such as those parents who are supported by the Changing Futures Team, meaning that they need extra support to provide safe or predictable care for their children

We know mums, dads, partners and other family and support networks are important to babies, so we welcome any of your close support network to be with you at visits if you wish.

Our aim is to support you to have a healthy pregnancy, plan for labour and your baby’s birth, improve your child’s health and development, build positive relationships with your baby and others, consider lifestyle choices that give you and your child the best possible start in life, develop support networks in the community and work with you to identify and achieve your goals.

If you choose an Early Parenthood Nurse, they will visit you at times that work for you. Visits start in pregnancy and continue until your baby is about three months old. How often they visit depends on your needs.

Your nurse will support you with things like:

• Bonding with your baby
• Feeding your baby, including breastfeeding
• Baby vaccinations
• Caring for your baby
• Your baby's growth and development 
• Building health relationships.

They will help you feel more confident and can also support you with things like mental health, anxiety, housing, or stopping smoking.

Your support will be personal to you. Your nurse will use a tool called the Outcomes Star to talk with you about:

• What is going well
• What you find hard
• Goals you would like to work on.

Together, you will plan what to focus on during your visits.

Your nurse can also connect you with other services, like Family Hubs and community support. They work with midwives and health visitors to make sure you get the right help at the right time.

When your time with the service ends, they will help make sure you still have the support you need.

The Early Parenthood Nurses are guided by the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code. Your visits with your Early Parenthood Nurse are confidential however they have a safeguarding responsibility. They are alert to signs of neglect and abuse and have a duty to report any concerns they may have. The Early Parenthood Nurse must follow safeguarding procedures if the nurse thinks that there may be risk of significant harm.

Your nurse will always discuss any concerns with you first before making any referrals unless under exceptional circumstances it would not be safe for you or your baby to do so.