Princess Kate has already seen some major successes in her work with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, but on Thursday, she traveled to Nuneaton, a town in England’s Midlands, to celebrate one of its biggest initiatives yet. The center, which Kate founded in June 2021 after a few years of information gathering and meeting with experts, is supporting an Oxford Institute of Health Visiting study—evaluating a tool to assess babies’ emotional states and wellbeing—with a donation of 50,000 British pounds (about 64,000 dollars).
In a white and green leopard print dress by Cefinn and white Jimmy Choos, the princess spoke with parents and young children at Riversley Park, a family wellness center managed by the UK children’s charity Barnardo’s where the area’s National Health Service family home visitors have their offices. Kate also spoke with a group of health visitors who are taking part in the study of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) and are currently receiving training in how to use the tool.
A video shared by the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English shows Kate reacting to a funny moment while speaking to a group of mothers. While Kate was asking a question, a baby interrupted her with a quick burp. “Well done you!” Kate replied after a bit of laughter. She then spoke to the baby’s mother. “It’s always really reassuring, you spend ages trying to make that happen.”
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Later, the mother told the Coventry Telegraph about her feelings during the moment. “I thought he was going to be sick—I thought, ‘Please don’t vomit on the princess’—but luckily it was only a burp,” she said. “I still thought ‘oh no,’ but she is a mum herself. She has probably been burped on more times than she would care to count.”
The ADBB is an eight-item checklist assessing an infant’s eye contact, facial expressions, vocalization, and activity levels, with the aim of identifying early signs of psychological distress. Kate first learned about it during a trip to Denmark in February 2022, where she toured the nation to see their various early childhood interventions. In a tweet before her trip, Kate said the nation was “a beacon of best practice in its approach to the early years, with a culture that prioritizes the best start in life.”
On her visit to Copenhagen Infant Mental Health Project, she spoke to experts and families taking part in a study evaluating the ADBB rollout among Danish families. Afterwards, the Centre for Early Childhood began working with Oxford’s IHV to explore implementing the idea in the UK. “Through working with Her Royal Highness, I know how committed she is to helping all children have a happy and healthy childhood, and this can only happen if we have a much greater focus on the earliest years of life,” the center’s CEO Alison Morton said in a statement. “Everyone has a part to play to make sure that no child is left behind.”
The study, which is being carried out at the South Warwickshire and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trusts, will last for 10 months. In a statement, Kensington Palace explained how the study fits into the Centre for Early Childhood’s larger ambitions for supporting mothers and young children through the crucial years for brain development.
Erin Vanderhoof
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