Infant Mental Health Week (9-15th June 2025) is a time to focus on the emotional wellbeing of babies and young children and explore how early relationships can shape lifelong development.
This year's theme, "Who is Holding the Baby?", aims to shine a light on gaps in services that support these vulnerable babies and their families. Not everyone bonds easily with their baby. Parents who are overwhelmed by trauma, or struggling with mental or physical health difficulties, often need support.
What Is Infant Mental Health?
Infant mental health refers to the social and emotional development of children from birth to age three. This includes their ability to:
- form secure relationships with parents or caregivers
- express and manage emotions
- explore their environment and learn
Even if babies aren’t speaking yet, their mental health is deeply influenced by the emotional climate around them. Safe, responsive, and nurturing relationships are the foundation of healthy development.
Why It Matters
The first 1,001 days of life are a critical window of a baby’s brain development. During this time, connections form in the brain at a rapid pace, laying the groundwork for how a child will think, feel, and relate to others.
Research shows that:
- Infants exposed to consistent love and responsiveness are more likely to thrive emotionally and socially
- Adverse experiences—such as neglect, chronic stress, or trauma—can disrupt development, and can have long-term consequences
How To Create a Bond With Your Baby
At Parents 1st, we are proud of our role in helping the parents we support in Essex form that crucial parent-baby bond.
We asked the experts – our highly experienced team of Pregnancy Pal and Birth Buddy peer supporters – how they help parents to create a bond with their babies.
Before Birth:
- I always suggest talking or singing to your baby when it's in your tummy
- Stroke and touch your tummy
- Encourage your partner to stroke your tummy and talk or sing to your baby too.
After Birth:
- When your baby is born, take time to do lots of skin to skin – where you place your baby on your skin. It has fantastic benefits not just for baby but for mum too - it is great for bonding and mental health
- It sounds simple, but touch is a great way to bond - stroke and hug your baby
- I always recommend signing up to the free baby massage class available at the family hubs
- I suggest that for the first week at least, try to avoid having visitors, and make yourself a baby bubble. This allows you to get to know your baby and for baby to get to know you
- Make the most of every moment there is eye contact with your baby. Find joy in each nappy change - it's one of the greatest bonding moments!!
- If mum is breastfeeding, then dad can always make up the bonding time with the nappy changes, hold their little hands, coo at them, smile lots - you will feel butterflies!!!
- Sing to your baby at opportunities like nappy changing
- Your baby doesn’t care what you say or mind what you talk about, any communication is good communication. You can talk to your baby about anything. Tell them you’re folding the washing or list off your ideas for dinner!
- If there are older siblings, ask them to learn a rhyme that they can sing to the baby every bedtime, to encourage family bonding