Creating safer spaces for new parents

A Glossop mum and parenting professional with more than 20 years of experience supporting families has launched a new movement aimed at improving emotional safety within parent and baby spaces.

Anouska Cassells officially launched “Parent Baby Spaces” - a grassroots social impact movement designed to help raise standards across baby classes, support groups and postnatal wellbeing services. 

The project was created after years of hearing difficult experiences from parents who felt unsupported, judged or emotionally unsafe within spaces intended to help families during early parenthood. 

Anouska, who is also a mum of four, said there are currently no shared minimum standards specifically focused on emotional safety within parent and baby environments. 

The new framework aims to address that by introducing standards centred around emotional safety, reflective practice, safeguarding awareness, compassionate support, professional responsibility and ongoing learning. 

The movement is open to anyone working with parents and babies, including baby class leaders, feeding and sleep support practitioners, postnatal wellbeing groups, community organisations and one-to-one support providers. Practitioners who choose to take part move through a reflective agreement process designed to align them with the standards and values of the initiative. 

Anouska said emotionally safe support during early parenthood is vital: “As both a practitioner and mum of four myself, this project means a huge amount to me and I truly believe parents deserve emotionally safe spaces during one of the most vulnerable stages of their lives.” 

The movement has already launched with 14 instructors involved from across the UK and internationally, with Anouska also beginning conversations with MPs following wider national discussions around regulation within parenting and baby industries. 

More information about the initiative can be found at: www.parentbabyspaces.com