Early childhood, from pregnancy to age five, is a key sensitive period for brain development, when the foundations are laid for a baby’s future health and wellbeing. Babies’ brains develop and grow rapidly in response to their environment, early relationships and experiences. They are born ready to engage with the world around them and have innate capacity to communicate through their behaviours. When caregivers understand babies’ behavioural cues and respond to them in a responsive, consistent and sensitive way, babies feel safe, loved and ready to explore. Some factors such as parental mental health, domestic abuse and substance misuse can impact on a caregiver’s ability to notice and respond appropriately to their baby’s needs. 

Due to their universal reach, health visitors are uniquely placed to identify emerging needs impacting on the parent/caregiver-infant relationship and offer early support. Health Visitors play a crucial role in promoting improved infant mental health through reflective conversations, practical strategies, and the delivery of specialist interventions (for example, in some areas health visitors deliver interventions including Video Interaction Guidance) and referrals to specialist services when needed.

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