A NEW service offering emotional support to new parents in St Helens will be available for the first time.

Parents in St Helens can access a Building Attachment and Bonds Service (BABS) as part of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust’s early years support for children and families.

BABS, jointly funded by the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership and St Helens Council, provides support to vulnerable families, women and birthing partners who are pregnant and in the early weeks after the baby is born.

Dr Lisa Marsland, Mersey Care’s Consultant Clinical Psychologist, said: “In BABS we believe relationships are everything and the most important relationship is between parent and child, we need to support our vulnerable families in the community.

“Most people want to be the best possible parent they can be to their baby, but life is hard for many families and sadly things get in the way. We can support parents to separate out their own past parenting experience, issues and struggles from their relationship with their baby so they can be the parent they want to be.”

BABS offers therapy and support, for pregnant women, new parents and partners, who struggle with their emotional wellbeing, or other vulnerabilities, and have concerns about their bonding and relationship with their baby. Sessions may take place in the family home or in the local family hubs in the community.

The service is open to pregnant women and birthing partners who struggle with their emotional wellbeing, other vulnerabilities such as the loss of parent, addiction, domestic violence or leaving the care system, and may find things hard.

Councillor Nova Charlton, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “Our council-run family hubs and children’s centres are the perfect environment for parents to build relationships with their babies and young children. Having attended a number of events and activities recently, it’s heartening to see first hand the strong bonds that come out of them. 

“Being part of the BABS service will help even more parents, who may not have had the best of experiences in the past, develop that special bond with their children and help us as a council achieve our main priority of ensuring all children and young people have a positive start in life.” 

More information about St Helens’ BABS service can be found by speaking to your GP, midwife, early help worker or any other professional who is supporting you. They will be able to refer you to Mersey Care’s services.

An initial home visit will take place within four weeks of the referral being accepted. Mersey Care welcome telephone enquiries to discuss suitability prior to referral on 0151 351 8801, while referrals can be sent to cmicb-ss.merseycarebabs@nhs.uk