Northern Trust selected for significant infant wellbeing project
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has been selected as one of only eight sites across the UK – and the only one in Northern Ireland – to receive funding to support the expansion of a pioneering project designed to support infant mental health and emotional wellbeing.
The project will trial the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (referred to as ADBB), an innovative baby observation tool developed in Denmark thanks to funding from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, established by the Prince and Princess of Wales, in partnership with the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV).
As part of the initiative, the Northern Trust has trained 57 health visitors on the ADBB approach, with staff using it to check social behaviour and interactions including eye contact, facial expressions, vocalisation and activity levels.
Support
Commenting on the Northern Trust’s involvement, Susan Gault MBE, Head of Public Health Nursing, said: “This is great news for babies and families in our area. Our health visitors play a crucial role in supporting families to understand how their babies communicate their needs and express their feelings.
“By using ADBB, practitioners, parents and carers are equipped to respond earlier to signs of emotional withdrawal and distress in babies, helping parents access specific support at a crucial stage of their baby’s brain development.”
The ADBB tool focuses on recognising subtle signs of withdrawal or distress in babies during routine assessments, providing an evidence-based framework to help build stronger parent-infant relationships and promote positive lifelong outcomes.
The Princess of Wales saw health visitors in Denmark using the tool during a visit in 2022 and The Centre for Early Childhood then worked with the iHV and Oxford University to test it in the UK.
Early intervention
The funding will support the Northern Trust to embed the ADBB model into practice, enhancing early intervention and reinforcing the Trust’s commitment to infant and early childhood development.
Health visitors involved in phase one of the project reported that the new training and tool, which required minimal additional time and could be embedded into routine activities with families, enabled them:
- To have more meaningful conversations with parents and carers about the emotional wellbeing of their baby;
- To promote positive parent-infant interactions, attachment, and bonding; and
- To identify those babies and families in need of greater support during this critical period of development.
The Northern Trust’s involvement in the project coincides with the launch of its new Infant Mental Health Strategy, which further highlights its commitment to the healthy social and emotional development of babies and young children.
Susan added: “Healthy relationships and supported parents are the foundation of health and wellbeing across the life-course, starting from pregnancy. With more than 21,000 children aged 0-3 years living in the Trust area, the Infant Mental Health Strategy represents a commitment to ensure ‘the best start in life’ for babies and young children with accessible support for parents and caregivers.”
Pictured above are Dr. Karen McWhinney, Head of Children and Young People Clinical Psychology, Pamela McBride, Lead Nurse, Susan Gault MBE, Chair of Infant Mental Health Steering Group and Head of Public Health Nursing, Shauna McPeake, Antenatal Coordinator, Kate McDermott, Health and Wellbeing Manager and Clare McKeown, Children’s Health Coordinator.
13th June 2025
