Perinatal compendium built by Children's Centre

Saturday 27 October 2018

A compendium of every service parents might need access to in the lead up to and months after birth has been put together by the Bright Beginnings Children's Centre.

The Perinatal Pathway includes statutory services, volunteer groups and all kinds of support for parents, which is all assembled in one place at the centre.

The idea stemmed from the "1001 Critical Days Agenda", which identifies vulnerable parents and offers targeted help to improve the upbringing of their children. That, in turn, is part of the Guernsey and Alderney Children and Young People's Plan.

Pictured: The Perinatal Pathway, a zoomed in version can be found below.

But this Pathway was put together by the Bright Beginnings Centre. Its Manager, Theresa Bott, said, that's because they were already a hub of services for new parents.

"We are launching our Perinatal Pathway today - it is a comprehensive list of services available to parents and carers in the 1001 critical day period," she said.

"That period is really important in the child's life, and if the parents need support they will be able to find exactly what they need with this guide. We felt there was a need for a directory, and we had a big space to use. Particularly as we already have several anti-natal classes, we already have lots of people here, so it is the perfect place."

Amy Hook, Deputy Manager, added the pathway was set out as a timeline, to help people see what support they might need. 

"It goes from statutory services like Midwives, all the way to speech and language therapy, post natal depression support and domestic support."

The project itself was funded by the Association of Guernsey Charities. 

To look at the pathway, people can go to the Bright Beginnings Centre, where it is displayed on the wall. It is also on the centre's website, here. 

Pictured:Bright Beginnings. x