Since our launch in December 2023, the My First 1000 Days team have been busy establishing the next steps for the project.
On 2nd February 2024, our Research Fellows, Dr Amy Creaser and Dr Alice Kininmonth, hosted a workshop with our workstream leads. In the workshop, we discussed the priorities for each workstream, and engaged with resources that have previously been used during similar group care sessions, brought over from the Netherlands by our partner, TNO.
Members of the My First 1000 Days team discussing their workstream priorities.
Each workstream shared their top priorities with the group, providing an opportunity for the team to discuss how we, as a collective, can deliver each priority.
Our priorities
Based on evidence, the expertise of our research team, and potential gaps in support for families, the My First 1000 Days team outlined several priorities:
Physical Activity
- Introducing or restarting physical activity after childbirth,
- Pelvic health,
- Co-engagement with physical activity (parent/caregiver and child being active together),
- Physical activity and mental health.
Food & Nutrition
- Uptake of Healthy Start vouchers,
- Responsive feeding for breastfeeding and formula feeding
- Breastfeeding support and destigmatisation of formula feeding
- Complementary feeding
- Healthy eating and making informed decisions
Language & Cognitive Development
- Communicating with your baby (child-directed speech, gestures),
- Sharing stories,
- Accessing local support services.
Disability Inclusivity
- Promoting a human rights perspective,
- Anticipating unintentional exclusions,
- Build a community of practice who are alert to the needs of disabled parents/caregivers and children.
Achieving our priorities
The My First 1000 Days team are committed to achieving these priorities and improving the lives of families in Leeds. To ensure we achieve our priorities, we are going to continue to host and engage in monthly interactive workshops.
In our next workshop, we will further refine the scope of the project and consider how we can put these priorities into practice. We will further explore resources used by our partnering organisation, TNO, in centering-based group care sessions in the Netherlands and consider how we can adapt activities to meet the needs of families in Leeds.
To ensure our priorities align with local priorities, we will engage professionals and families in interviews, focus groups and workshops to further refine our priorities and activities.
