WHEN a new baby arrives, there’s no instruction manual for parents.

Every day is a learning curve and that is part of the incredible journey new parents embark on.

But thanks to the NSPCC’s ante-natal programme, Baby Steps, there is help where needed. Since its launch three years ago, around 3,000 expectant parents have taken part in the nine-session group programme across the UK. More than 650 of these were from Bradford.

The programme helps to prepare expectant parents, not just for the birth of their baby but for parenting itself. Following a home visit, parents attend six weekly sessions before the baby is born, and three more after the birth.

According to a new report, parents have been enthusiastic about the programme, saying it made them better prepared for parenthood and equipped them with the knowledge and skills to feel more confident as parents.

Sharda Parthasarathi, NSPCC’s service manager for Bradford and Leeds, says: “Pregnancy and the first few months of life are an incredibly important time for families. For babies, this is a time of incredible growth which will shape their later development and wellbeing. Despite the importance of this life-stage, opportunities to support parents during the transition to parenthood are often missed. Much of the antenatal education parents receive focuses on physical health of mothers and babies, but it is critically important that we support both mums and dads with their emotional, social and physical needs to ensure that babies receive the best possible start.”

Baby Steps encourages parents to participate through interactive approaches such as discussions, creative activities and film. The programme, jointly delivered by a health and children’s service practitioner, covers topics that parents expect from antenatal education, such as birth, breastfeeding and practical baby care, but also focuses on key themes such as strengthening parent-infant relationships, strengthening couple relationships, improving emotional wellbeing and helping parents understand their babies’ development.

Chris Cuthbert, NSPCC’s head of strategy and development says: “The results have been incredibly positive. Parents who took part in the programme reported decreased anxiety, improved relationship satisfaction with partners and babies, and improved birth outcomes.”

One Bradford mum who used Baby Steps says: “I’m much more full-on with this baby than I was with the others because they taught us to calm them; talk to them, sing to them. I do all that and he’s so content.”

Another said her relationship with her partner had also improved. “Since the course we sit down now when he gets home for an hour and talk about our days.”

The NSPCC aims to work with health visitors, midwives and children’s services professionals to deliver Baby Steps to more expectant parents nationwide.