Parent Infant Relationship

Join Our Baby and Parent Wellbeing Group!

Calling all parents and carers! Are you looking for a supportive community where you can bond with your little one and practice self-care? Look no further! Our Baby and Parent Wellness Group is here to nurture both you and your precious baby.

For Babies (Aged 8 Weeks to 6 Months):

Baby Massage: Learn gentle techniques to soothe your baby, promote relaxation, and enhance bonding.
Baby Yoga: Explore playful movements that support your baby’s development and encourage flexibility.

For Parents and Carers:

Mindfulness Sessions: Take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Learn mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and stay present.
Journaling: Discover the therapeutic benefits of journaling. Reflect, express, and connect with other parents.
Self-Care Tips: Because you deserve it! We’ll share practical self-care strategies to recharge your energy.

For dates and times search family wellbeing group on our what’s on page

📞 Referral Only: Speak to your Health Professional or call 01803 210200 to secure your spot. Let’s create a nurturing space together!

We want to help every parent or carer in Torbay to find the right support at the right time. Support isn’t just for the tough times. It’s there to help make your whole parenting experience easier and more enjoyable.

Where you can get support

Welcome to 0 to 19 Torbay. Helping families find ways to avoid illness and stay fit, happy and healthy.

Family Hubs are a new way of bringing together all the support a family may need and provides a welcoming space and a ‘front door’ for families from pregnancy through to young people turning 19 (or 25 if they experience SEND)

You can download our booklet here which is full of helpful information as you settle into the area. If you have any questions about our service or would like to find out what’s on in the area, please go to our website https://torbayfamilyhub.org.uk or find us on Facebook or Instagram, just search for 0to19Torbay. To access everything you need in one easy place, you may prefer to download the Family hub app.

Alternatively, you can contact our advice line on 0300 333 5352 or email
publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net.

As you connect with us, we hope you quickly feel welcome and
settled in Torbay.

Discover the Magic of Baby Massage!

Are you a new parent looking to bond with your precious little one? Look no further! Our Baby Massage sessions offer a delightful way to connect, relax, and create beautiful memories together.

Why Choose Baby Massage?

1. Bonding Time: Strengthen your emotional connection with your baby through gentle, loving touch. It’s a moment of pure magic that you both will cherish.
2. Better Sleep: Help your baby drift off into dreamland with calming strokes. Say goodbye to restless nights!
3. Colic Relief: Soothe your baby’s tummy troubles and ease colic symptoms. Massage aids digestion and provides comfort.
4. Quality Time: Put away distractions and immerse yourself in this special bonding experience. Use music, simple songs, and nursery rhymes to make it even more delightful.

The Benefits of Baby Massage

Many thousands of parents have already attended our courses and discovered the numerous benefits of baby massage which can include:

For your baby

• Helping your baby to feel securely attached
• Helping your baby to feel more loved, valued and respected
• Reduced crying and emotional distress
• Increased levels of relaxation and longer sleep
• Development of body awareness and coordination
• Relief from wind, colic, constipation and teething discomfort

For you

• Feeling closer to your baby
• Gaining a deeper understanding of your baby’s behaviour, crying and body language
• Providing an enjoyable opportunity to spend one-to-one time with your baby
• Feeling the relaxing effects of giving your baby a massage Increased confidence in your ability to care for and nurture your baby
• Learning a life-long parenting skill

Contact your health visitor who will complete a referral onto this course or you can complete this form to self refer. Under four’s referral form.

Download our leaflet for information on the services and support available in Torbay for infant feeding, your mental health and wellbeing and early communication. To see What’s on and when, go to our What’s On pages.

If you have just moved to Torbay, view or download our transfer in booklet full of information and advice to support your child or children’s health.

Are you ready to explore the stunning landscapes of Torbay? Look no further than Ramble Club, our family-friendly walking and talking group. The Ramble Club offers the perfect opportunity to:

• Make Time for Yourself: Escape the daily grind and immerse yourself in nature.
• Embrace Nature: Breathe in the fresh air, soak up the sunshine, and enjoy the beauty around you.
• Move Your Body: Walking is great exercise, and it’s even better when you’re surrounded by scenic views.
• Connect with Your Child: Share quality time with your little ones as you explore together.
• Make New Friends: Ramble Club is a welcoming community where friendships blossom.

Next Meet Details: dates, times and location are on our What’s On page

Why Join Ramble Club?

• Changing Scenery: Each month, we explore different beautiful spots across the bay.
• Family-Friendly: Bring the kids along—they’ll love discovering new places too!

Don’t miss out! Lace up your shoes, get your baby or toddler ready and join us for Ramble Club. Let’s create memories amidst Torbay’s breathtaking sceneries. See you there!

Watch this lovely video of families and staff enjoying Ramble Club. The video was created by Torbay Council for the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report 2024. Click here to read the report and see all the other videos featured.

Download our helpful leaflet with all our perinatal mental health and parent infant relationship services and support for families living in Torbay. Click on the links underlined for more information about each service.

Support, information and services to support parents, carers, children young people and practitioners.

• Start for Life, pregnancy and parenthood guidance up to babies
• Early years, support through your child’s early years from toddler to pre-school
• Children and Teens, trusted information for primary aged children and secondary aged teenagers
• Help for parents and carers
• Torbay SEND Local Offer
• Torbay care experienced local offer
• Finding childcare
• Wraparound and holidays
• What’s on

Watch this short video to find out more about family hubs and how they can support you and your family.

Other information on our website –

• Perinatal mental health
• Parent infant relationships
• Infant Feeding
• Early Communication

Call us : 01803 210200

Email: Familyhubtorbay@actionforchildren.org.uk

Download the Torbay Family Hub App and chat to us or find information and advice.

What is VIG?

VIG is a strengths-based, effective, brief intervention for parents and carers of children across all ages. VIG can even be used during pregnancy to help you to connect with your unborn baby. Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) can help you to see what you are already doing that is helping your baby/child – strengths that you may not know you have.

Find out more from the Association for Video Interactive Guidance UK and watch this is a brief video of parents talking about their positive experiences of VIG.

You and your baby building the most amazing human body

Your baby’s primitive heart begins beating at about day 22 after fertilisation enabling very primitive blood cells to circulate, and this makes the heart the first functioning organ system.

Within weeks after conception your baby’s brain is beginning to bulge and will be given a high priority in the period of growth both before and after birth.
Your baby will be having a range of sensory experiences in response to what is going on inside and outside your tummy. Your baby will be able to respond to sound, vibration and vestibular (balance) changes – as you move, your baby responds accordingly.

Emotional development of your baby begins long before its first breath of air.
Towards the end of the first trimester your growing baby begins to leap and use the walls of your uterus as a trampoline.

By week 9
Their fingers and toes are almost complete and they have touch pads on their fingers.

By week 10
Your growing baby contains all the organ structures that a new-born baby has, but in an immature state.

By week 11
Your baby’s body length has doubled and all vital organs are fully formed. Other coordinated activities such as stretching, swallowing, yawning and sucking are beginning to enlarge.

Continuing to build the most amazing human body

Movement is your growing baby’s primary activity. They can bend, flex, twist, stretch and kick, as well as suck, swallow, yawn and grasp.

Rapid growth of the part of your baby’s brain associated with movement and balance enables your growing baby to practice increasingly more coordinated activities. Due to extended connections from the brain to most parts of the body, baby can perform somersaults, back flips and rolling movements in the next few weeks.

With surprising development of hearing and tasting the way is open for babies to have even more extensive interactions with you.

Life in the womb – now we can observe it – bears little resemblance to the lazy world we once thought happened in which a growing baby was an inactive passenger, virtually deaf, dumb and blind.

Your growing baby’s brain is affected by environmental factors such as malnutrition. This is why it is critically important to eat well and healthily during pregnancy.

One of the biggest surprises about life in the womb is the way growing babies can feel and react. Spontaneous and graceful movement that can now be observed from about 10 weeks reveals self-expression and early aspects of self-control, needs and interests.

Finishing building the most amazing human body

This final stage of your baby’s growth inside the womb is characterised by significant weight gain, your baby will almost triple in size and their length will double.
Dramatic brain growth is happening at this time, this is due to new cells and connections being made.

This is also a crucial time for the maturation of your baby’s senses, and they are literally buzzing due to the development they are undergoing.

Exploring their environment is becoming your baby’s primary source of entertainment.

Around about this time, baby’s cerebral cortex has become mature enough to enable them to feel and remember things, such as particular tunes or music.

A message from your baby…

By week 32
I can hear, taste, smell and touch. I sleep for most of the time, and during this time rapid eye movements, which are associated with dreaming, are apparent. Dreaming helps my brain to further develop, which is why I spend 90-95% of my time asleep.

By week 38
I have lived underwater, in almost complete darkness, all warm and cosy. I have experienced smell, taste, touch, and movement. I have developed a brain that is ready to learn and experience the world around me.

Download the Baby Buddy App a free interactive pregnancy and parenting app to provide trusted, evidenced based information and self care tools based on the latest research and is aligned to the NHS.

Getting to Know Your Baby videos have been designed to help parents, caregivers, and health professionals to know how to support the development of a baby’s emotional wellbeing. See categories for more videos: –

• Introduction & Why Bonding matters
• Bonding Before Birth
• Baby States
• Early Interactions
• Sleeping & Soothing

Click on this link to the Infant Association for Mental Health to see a range of helpful videos.

You can find links to recommended websites and information in this section.

Better Health: Start for Life Programme which includes :

Bonding with your baby, building a close relationship with your baby,  understanding your baby and learning about baby states. Start for Life Website – bonding with your baby

Institute of Health Visiting : Making sense of your baby – Getting to know your baby (video clips) and iHV Parent Tips.

Brazelton Centre UK: understanding baby behaviour click on parent tab Newborn Parents (finding out about baby’s special language and behaviour ) www.brazelton.co.uk/parents

Parent Infant Relationship Foundation: Do not provide direct work to support parents but they can connect parents to organisations. www.parentinfantfoundation.org/uk

Association of Infant Mental Health: 25 things very baby would want you to know https://.aimh.uk/aimh-uk-25-things-every-baby-would-want-you-to-know/