The Princess of Wales launched The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021

The Princess of Wales is celebrating a major milestone in one of the causes closest to her heart.

The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) have announced the expansion of a groundbreaking trial designed to promote infant wellbeing.

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The Princess of Wales is celebrating a major milestone

 understands the Princess is thrilled by the expansion of the trial, with a spokesperson adding: “The work of the Centre for Early Childhood continues to shine a light on just how important the first five years of life are for any baby and the role we can all play.

“The Princess is delighted to see the expansion of the ADBB trial and looks forward to following it closely.”

Alarm Distress Baby Scale – all you need to know

The tool, known internationally as the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), focuses on a baby’s social behaviours such as eye contact, facial expression, vocalisation and activity levels to help practitioners and families better understand the ways babies express their feelings.

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The royal launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021

Providing support at this critical time, when babies’ brains are developing faster than at any other time in their lives, can have a life-long impact.

This initiative, which is now set to expand to eight new sites this year, plays a vital role during a baby’s critical early years, a time when their brains develop faster than at any other stage of life.

Cause close to Kate’s heart

As a passionate advocate for early childhood development, Princess Kate – who recently revealed she is in remission from cancer – has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the importance of the first five years of life.

Through her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, she has launched various initiatives to support families and promote a greater understanding of how early experiences shape a child’s future.

Over the past year, Kate has been kept updated on the work of the CfEC which has been continuing to deliver tangible action while she has been focused on her treatment and recovery.

© Samir Hussein
Princess Kate during her visit the Infant Mental Health Project at the University of Copenhagen in 2022

Christian Guy, Executive Director of The Centre for Early Childhood, said: “We know that warm, loving, responsive interactions with those closest to them during the earliest weeks and months of a baby’s life are crucial in promoting positive brain development.

“Health visitors do such a vital job in our communities. I am delighted that we are now able to give more teams across the UK the support they need to help thousands of families to better understand their babies and build nurturing relationships, laying the strongest possible foundations for all that is to come in the years that follow.”

Timeline of the initiative

The Princess saw health visitors in Denmark using the tool on a visit there in 2022 and The Centre for Early Childhood then worked with the iHV and Oxford University to test it in the UK.

Phase one explored the feasibility of implementing a modified version of the tool (m-ADBB) within health visitors’ routine six to eight-week checks with families and had overwhelmingly positive results.

The second phase, funded by a £210,000 grant from the Centre for Early Childhood, will build upon the findings of the first and will focus on the impact of the tool, and how it is experienced by parents.

The evaluation will also look at whether more babies receive the additional support they need as a result of the tool helping health visitors to identify concerns as early as possible.

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Kate cooing over a baby during her visit to Copenhagen

Alison Morton, Chief Executive of the Institute of Health Visiting, added: “We are delighted to have the continued support from the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to deliver the second phase of this exciting programme of work. As we know, babies can’t talk, but there is significant evidence that their early experiences influence their future outcomes.

“The expansion of the use of the modified ADBB tool in a wider range of health visiting services will allow us to consider its future implementation and sustainability, and ensure more families get the right support and babies can thrive.”