UPDATED 4th July 2025.

HENRY is proud to support the First 1001 Days Movement in urging the UK Government to take urgent action to protect babies, toddlers and their parents during the COVID‑19 crisis.

Over 40 leading charities and professional bodies - including mental health, family and children’s organisations - have united to raise concerns about the serious risks faced by the youngest children and their caregivers during lockdown, calling for immediate intervention to safeguard families during this critical time.

Why This Matters Now

While the extraordinary efforts of policymakers and frontline professionals are rightly praised, the unintended consequences of the pandemic response are becoming clear. In many areas of England, up to 50% of staff from essential services such as health visiting, perinatal mental health and parent-infant teams have been redeployed. These services are vital to safeguarding and supporting vulnerable families, particularly those with babies and toddlers.

Before the pandemic, research showed that 10-20% of women experienced mental health problems during the perinatal period.[1] 25,000 babies in England were already living in households with multiple significant risks, such as parental mental illness, domestic abuse or substance misuse.[2] These issues have only worsened during lockdown, often hidden behind closed doors and invisible to services.

“We can’t expect families in trouble to always ask for help. Parents often hide their struggles for fear of stigma and judgment. And babies can’t speak out.”

What Charities Are Asking For

The First 1001 Days Movement is urging the UK Government to:

• Put babies and young children centre-stage in decision-making, ensuring their needs are explicitly considered in COVID-19 responses and recovery strategies, including representation in high-level forums such as COBRA.
   
• Protect essential services by preventing the redeployment of key staff in community-based roles such as health visitors, parent-infant and perinatal mental health teams. These services are not optional extras, they are lifelines for families at risk.
   
• Provide clear national guidance to help local services work together to deliver joined-up support, drawing on partnerships between statutory agencies, charities and appropriate local volunteers.
   
• Plan for post-lockdown recovery, ensuring services can swiftly and safely return to offering high-quality, face-to-face support for families, especially those with the greatest need.

Leading Voices

Sally Hogg, Head of Policy and Campaigning at the Parent‑Infant Foundation and Coordinator of the First 1001 Days Movement, said:

For a long time, charities, professionals and parliamentarians have called for there to be a senior Minister in Government with clear responsibility for the wellbeing of children, beginning in pregnancy. Perhaps if such a person had been in place, we would have seen more attention paid to the needs of the youngest children in response to COVID-19. Babies don’t have a voice. This is a time when they need someone to be speaking up for them, and championing their needs at the highest levels in Westminster and Whitehall.”

Anne Longfield, then Children’s Commissioner for England, added:

“I support this statement from the 1001 Days Movement. While thankfully babies and toddlers seem to be at lower risk of COVID-19 illness, we know that many are vulnerable to a host of secondary risks. Lockdown places additional pressures on parental mental health, family finances and relationships, and leaves families without their support networks. Families with vulnerable young children need help in caring for, bonding with and supporting the development of their babies and toddlers”

Further Reading & Resources

Explore more about the First 1001 Days Movement and their campaign to protect families during and beyond the pandemic:

• Statement: First 1001 Days Movement champions babies during COVID‑19
• Evidence Brief – The Science Behind the First 1001 Days
• Why Health Visiting Matters – Parent‑Infant Foundation Report
• The COVID Generation of Toddlers – The Times
• Government Evidence to Health & Social Care Committee

[1] Bauer, A., Parsonage, M., Knapp, M., Iemmi, V., & Adelaja, B. (2014). Costs of perinatal mental health problems.

[2] Miles, A. (2018). A Crying Shame A report by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner into vulnerable babies in England

Want to Get Involved or Learn More?

If you’d like to learn more about HENRY programmes, partner with us, or support our work to give every child a healthy, happy start in life, please get in touch.