FAMILIES

Nurse-Family Partnership Programme - Second Year Pilot Sites Implementation in England: The Infancy Period (23rd September 2009)

Young first time mothers are being helped to improve the life chances of their babies and fathers are more involved in the early years of their children’s lives thanks to the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme, independent research published today has found.

The second year evaluation report of the FNP programme by University of London, Birkeck, which is joint between the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health, found that:

• Effective delivery is having a positive impact on some of the most vulnerable young families in society;
• There are early signs that the programme is having a positive effect on reducing smoking during pregnancy and increasing rates of breastfeeding;
• Mothers value the programme and believe it has made a positive difference to how they care for their baby and their own aspirations for the future;
• Fathers’ involvement is especially high with more than half of fathers present for at least one pregnancy visit;
• A strong nurse-client relationship is key to its success – and clients are overwhelmingly positive about their family nurses, rating them on average 9 out of 10; and
• Nurses have reported that their clients are more confident as parents, were playing with their children more, wanted to learn, and had aspirations for the future.

Press Release
Report