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Celebrations were held in Newquay on Friday 9 June to mark the launch of a new service following a successful pilot during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 120 people from the health and care sector attended the launch hosted by the Trust. Attendees included NHS workers, expert teams from children’s services and specialist speakers from around the UK. They came together to share their knowledge of parent and infant mental health and how they can work together with the new service.

The event was also an opportunity for colleagues to share success stories, innovations, and developments in the parent-infant mental health field.

A recent study by the Infant-Parent Foundation of more than 1,000 mothers found that more than 1 in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby. Nearly three-quarters of women state that they received no advice on bonding with their baby after birth.

The Thriving Together service aims to support parent-infant mental health by strengthening the parent’s confidence. As well as their capacity to understand and enjoy their relationship with their baby or child. This is done by:

• treating existing mental health conditions and traumas
• assisting with bonding, feeding and emotional attachment
• supporting play-based therapy
• focussing on the parents’ existing positives within their infant-parent relationship

“I was very privileged to attend the event. It was inspiring to see colleagues across the county, and from Devon, coming together to learn and celebrate successes in the services we offer to families. We can do no better preventative work than helping to strengthen families in nurturing infants and children.” Margaret Schwarz, Non-Executive Director

Speakers at the launch event included acclaimed psychotherapist and trauma expert, Graham Music, Julian Bose from Dadpad, Dr Isabel Jimenez Acquarone from The Parent Infant Centre, Smita Hanciles from UNICEF, and Jo Davies, Chief Executive Officer of WILD. They also included local health visiting and perinatal and maternal mental health services.

“There are so many amazing services operating in Cornwall which we were keen to pull together at our conference. There is so much energy and passion in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to work in partnership to improve the outcomes for children in our collective care.

"We are determined to build on this and really keep momentum towards creating the best services and experience possible for our children and families."

David Pike, Head of Thriving Together and Specialist Parenting Services.

Thriving Together is one of just 45 specialised parent-infant relationship teams in the country. They work alongside perinatal mental health, community midwives, health visiting, the local council and mum, dad, and baby groups, such as Wild and Dad Pad.

The Parent-Infant Foundation states that every baby needs a stable start in life to develop physically and emotionally. Early relationships between babies and their parents are incredibly important for building healthy brains. The first 1,001 days of life, from conception to age 2, is a time of unique opportunity and vulnerability. It is a period of particularly rapid growth when the foundations for later development are laid.

Wendy Shallcross, a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, and Thriving Together Consultant, campaigned for a service for 20 years. Wendy realised that there was a gap in providing specialist mental health support for infants and their parents or carers. Her aim was to promote and better positive mental health, bonding and attachment.

“Thriving Together now means that there is now a pathway right the way through from conception to infancy and to 18 years of age with CAMHS in Cornwall. Our next step is to boost engagement with fathers and extend our support to helping them feel connected with their young children.” Wendy

To access the Thriving Together service, speak to your health support team, or visit Cornwall Council's Early Help Hub online.