The effect of the Newcastle Parent Infant Partnership approach: a qualitative evaluation

Abstract

BackgroundAs a specialised intervention, the Newcastle Parent Infant Partnership (NEWPIP) service supports new parents and their babies experiencing issues affecting their relationship and development within the first 1001 critical days. NEWPIP is one of 34 specialised parent–infant psychotherapy teams across England. We aimed to gather in-depth data to understand parent's lived experiences and the effectiveness of the service, to provide recommendations for future practice. MethodsWith a qualitative approach, this study included ten semi-structured interviews. Guided by narrative methods and open-ended questions, interviews lasted between 30–90 min. Recruitment involved both purposive and convenience sampling. All parents received the service within the past 2 years between March, 2018, and April, 2020. Participants were provided with an information sheet before taking part. All participants electronically signed a consent form and provided verbal consent. Ethics was approved by Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK. Once interviews were complete, researchers transcribed the interviews and analysed the data thematically (NVivo 12), using a three-stage coding method, grounded in the data. Findings11 parents were involved in the study, including ten women and one man, due to the purpose of referrals being predominantly for mothers. Five overarching themes were discovered on the basis of the parent's own sense of empowerment, narratives of time, reflections on a unique approach, impact on relationships, and public awareness and partnerships. The findings illuminated an approach that supports parents to build a better bond with their baby by providing a safe space for parents to heal relationships, although with differences in expectations from parents around time and support required. Parents also felt there should be increased public awareness and improved partnerships with other health organisations to ensure a smooth transition to long-term support and improved outcomes for children after parents have ended their sessions with NEWPIP. InterpretationThe NEWPIP approach provides unique and flexible support, increasing a parent's confidence, autonomy, and deeply understanding the bond with their baby. There was also an emphasis from parents on how to strengthen the fluidity of the NEWPIP approach to incorporate wider service eligibility for parents and their infants within the 1001 critical days and beyond. Nonetheless, referral times were inconsistent and required more clarification. The service requires increased public awareness to highlight the success of the unique approach while also creating greater opportunities for self-referral to increase empowerment felt by parents. The timing and transition of the parents in receipt of the service is fluid and responsive to individual circumstances but could be improved to ensure that care is provided during the 1001 critical days and beyond. FundingNone.