“Parents in Teesside told us that they wanted tips on their well-being, so we made a 3 minute packed parents tips video for new parents to watch and practitioners to share”
by Close Knit CIC
“Close-Knit CIC has co-produced with local parents and practitioners an animated video to support the well-being of new parents! ”
In the UK around 1 in 5 women will experience mental health problems during or after pregnancy and there is significant evidence of the need for support for fathers around this time too. At Close-Knit, we share resources that support parents to build a relationship with their babies and we recognise that when parents are struggling with their mental health that can be harder to do.
We are not here to help create perfect parents, because perfect parents do not exist, but we do want our resources to support parents as early as possible because we know how important the parent and infant relationship is for a child and their future.
When parents in Teesside told us that they wanted tips on looking after their well-being we decided to make a video animation about it, with parents, for parents. We had already made an animated video about baby brain development with local parents and practitioners, so we used some of that learning again when deciding the length of the video and with the use of local accents.
The co-production process had three phases with parents and practitioners, the first phase was about identifying themes and content through surveys. The second and third phases focused on the script and then the storyboard and adapted script in focus groups.
3 minutes long and easy to share the link,
Share the web page https://www.close-knit.org.uk/parents with new parents and make the contact count.
Overall, we spoke to over 50 local parents and over 30 practitioners throughout these phases to co-produce our video.
One of the themes that came up when we were speaking to parents was that they felt it was important for parents to know that they were not alone; not alone in the challenges, not alone when questioning themselves and not alone when feeling overwhelmed.
As well as the challenges that come with parenting babies there are other reasons parents may struggle with their emotional well-being before and after birth, such as having a difficult pregnancy, birth trauma, previous baby loss, having a baby with higher needs, if they have a history of trauma and other reasons too. At Close-Knit we are passionate about showing parents that by looking after yourself, you are looking after your baby too. We want to help parents understand that by doing things to care for themselves, they are more likely to create a relaxed and calm environment, which has a positive impact on baby development as well as being positive for their well-being. Our video shares a few ideas about how parents can better care for themselves. We know that sometimes when caring for a baby, people can forget about themselves, what their interests are and even what they like. In our video, we encourage parents to do something that they enjoy, something for them. We also explain to parents the benefits of spending time simply being with their baby and how this helps both them and their baby. We want as many new parents as possible to see this video and we would appreciate your support, how can you help us share this video with parents?
Connect with us below
Connect with us below
Check out our parent well-being video resource and other resources at www.close-knit.org.uk/parents and www.close-knit.org.uk/signposting for helpful numbers and links for when parents need support.
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Instagram and Facebook - @close.knit.families
Twitter - @closeknit_fam
Linked in - Close-Knit CIC
