Families to be given personal introduction to Sure Start for advice during pregnancy and beyond

Expectant parents will be invited to attend a children’s centre and assigned a personal contact to give them advice and support from before their child is born into their pre-school years.

Fathers and mothers will also be offered accommodation with babies on neonatal wards if they want to stay in hospital overnight to make sure both parents are involved and supported during this difficult time. The Government also wants services to recognise the importance of involving fathers and making families feel welcome, for example, by extending provision for new parents to stay overnight with newborns where appropriate.

The review will also consult on offering all women an assessment of health and social care needs by their 12th week of pregnancy.

Other measures include:

•    ‘A family start’ meeting inviting families to meet with a health visitor or healthy child team between the 12th and 26th week of pregnancy.
•    Considering whether to offer mothers-to-be the right to choose where they give birth in the NHS constitution
•    Extending the family nurse partnership to all young, vulnerable families within five years, subject to evaluation
•    Promoting the benefits of talking and reading to babies and infants
•    Providing advice on nutrition and smoking to expectant parents

Health secretary Andy Burnham said, ‘A child’s lifelong health, happiness and achievements are heavily influenced by their experience before birth and in their earliest years. That’s why it’s important that we give all families the support they need, and that they know what they are entitled to and can expect throughout pregnancy and beyond.

‘In principle, I believe that women should have a right to choose where to give birth. This is important to families and we are doing further research into how practical issues can be overcome, with the aim of consulting on offering this as an entitlement in the NHS Constitution.

'We know that accessing services early can make a big difference in helping new parents to be better equipped to make choices about their care and, ultimately, in improving outcomes for the baby. I also want to consult on making the health and social care assessment by the 12th week of pregnancy an entitlement under the NHS Constitution. This would give patients the power to demand services to meet their needs and enshrine their rights for future generations.’