Parent-Infant Relationship: Pregnancy Bonding and Attachment Training

North Northamptonshire Council commissions a one-year training programme in pregnancy bonding and attachment, with a focus on strengthening relationships between parents and infants from the earliest stages of pregnancy through to the end of the first 1,001 critical days. Empowering expectant parents to form strong, positive bonds with their unborn babies and to nurture these relationships as their child grows.

This programme will form a central part of the North Northamptonshire Family Hubs model, which has mobilised four Family Hub Networks across each locality (Corby, East Northants, Kettering and Wellingborough) to provide integrated, accessible, and family-centred support.

To strengthen this offer, the training is designed for the Early Help workforce, operating within the Family Hub Network, which includes Best Start in Life (BSIL) practitioners, Service Managers, Early Years Practitioners, and Family Hub Connectors. By embedding this training in Family Hubs, services will be equipped with the skills, confidence, and consistency needed to support parents in building strong bonds with their babies from pregnancy and beyond.

The Training Programme aims to:

• Strengthen the capacity of the Family Hub workforce to promote and support bonding and secure parent-infant relationships from pregnancy onwards.
• Equip practitioners with evidence-based knowledge and skills to recognise, prevent, and respond to perinatal mental health and bonding difficulties.
• Build a shared language and approach across the workforce to improve consistency of practice and ensure families receive joined-up support.
• Promote inclusive practice that recognises and values the roles of fathers, partners, and diverse family structures in early bonding and attachment.
• Contribute to the delivery of the North Northamptonshire Perinatal Mental Health and Parent-Infant Relationships Strategy (2024) by addressing the identified gap in workforce development.