Kate visits project helping shape baby development

The Princess of Wales has heard about efforts to flag up early social withdrawal in babies and toddlers during a visit to a clinic.

Kate visited the Chase Community Hospital in Bordon, Hampshire and met health visitors who use an observational tool, called the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB).

Healthcare and childcare professionals use the approach to focus on babies' eye contact, facial expressions and activity levels to help understand their social behaviour and identify where more support is needed.

The pilot project in Hampshire is backed by the princess' charitable arm the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

Kate first saw the approach in action on a visit to Denmark with The Centre for Early Childhood in February 2022.

She later called for the philanthropic unit to look at how it could be introduced in the UK, working with the Institute of Health Visiting.

The model can also be used to recognise early signs of psychological distress in under two year olds, enabling specialist support to be accessed as soon as it is needed.

Two pilot phases have been carried out across 10 NHS sites.

Earlier this year the centre announced a further £250,000 cash boost over three years to expand the approach's use, including developing guidance and training resources.

One of the health visiting teams from the Chase Community Hospital was among those at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to be trained as part of the second pilot.

The NHS trust has trained up more specialist health visitors in ADBB and plans to roll out the training to its remaining 13 health visiting teams across the county.

At the hospital, Kate met families who have been supported after the extra assessment.

She joined discussions with NHS and healthcare staff and observed a baby health and development review.