Family Nurse Partnership Ready to Deliver Across Essex

First-time teenage parents across Essex can now benefit from support, advice and home visits to help them to ensure their babies get the best start in life.

The Family Nurse Partnership, a programme to provide on-going, intensive support to new teenage mothers and their children, which has been available in south east Essex for seven years launches this week across the whole of Essex.

SEPT Director of Children’s Services, Theresa Smith said: “This programme has been running in the United States for over 30 years and has a good rate of success, so we are pleased that we are now able to deliver it across Essex.

“It will be a great service that that will be offered to those young people who are most vulnerable and in need of support during their pregnancy, we will work alongside the midwife and the GP to ensure that they receive the best possible care in their homes.”

The aim of the programme is to help equip young mothers and fathers with the knowledge, confidence and skills to ensure that their babies get the best start in life, and to help the young parents with life beyond pregnancy.

Pregnant teens will receive weekly to fortnightly home visits by highly trained nurses, starting in the early stages of pregnancy and continuing until the child’s second birthday.

Nurses will support the expectant teenage mothers to develop her maternal skills during the pregnancy, developing the teens’ parenting knowledge and skills to help improve their child’s health and development, and improve the young parents’ economic self-sufficiency, by helping them to achieve their aspirations, such as employment or returning to education.

Not only has the programme plenty of health benefits for both babies and young parents, it will also help tackle social mobility as the young mothers and fathers receive guidance on how they can return to education and get back on the career ladder after becoming a parent.

SEPT Director of Children’s Services, Theresa Smith said: “We have been successfully delivering the Family Nurse Partnership in south east Essex for seven years. The rollout of the programme across the whole of the county will enable us to support many more young parents and their babies”

A mother in Southend daughter has recently turned two and has been supported by a Family nurse commented:
“The nurse made us feel comfortable. We had been quite nervous about becoming parents because I was only 18. I know some people might have been put off, thinking it was about someone judging us, but it wasn't like that. She reassured us we were doing everything right and it has given us confidence in ourselves as parents.”

Pol Toner, Essex Area Team Director of Nursing and Quality said: “The Family Nurse Partnership programme has been invaluable in supporting young families in south east Essex and it’s great that SEPT can now begin to roll the service out more widely. This means many more vulnerable children across the county will get a better start in life.”

Councillor Dick Madden, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Children and Families said: “Rolling out the Family Nurse Partnership across the county is welcome news. We have seen positive outcomes from the programme in the South of the County – first time parents under the age of 20 have been supported to stop smoking, numbers breastfeeding have increased and mothers are supported to return to education or employment. To see this service across the county means we can be sure that the most disadvantaged new parents will be offered tailored help and support from a specialist nurse, ensuring all children get the best start in life.”