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Is PIPPIN targeted at disadvantaged families? What makes PIPPIN's approach different? Aren't conventional parenting classes enough? What's special about PIPPIN's philosophy? Is PIPPIN's impact just for the early months? Why is it worth investing in PIPPIN training? Are PIPPIN classes as measurably effective? What do professionals think of PIPPIN? Can we integrate PIPPIN easily into the parenting initiative we have already? What classes are available for parents?
PIPPIN (Parents In Partnership - Parent Infant Network) is a national charity whose main aim is to maintain and improve the emotional health of families through one of the most critical stages in people's lives - the period surrounding the birth of a new baby. Excellent training is key to this. PIPPIN trained facilitators are introducing parenting classes as standalone courses and integrated with conventional Parentcraft classes in many parts of the country. PIPPIN's aim is to see these classes available to parents all over Britain. We have developed, rigorously tested and continue to refine our range of courses. We provide people from all areas of healthcare and care - for example, midwives and health visitors; family and social workers; childbirth and parenting educators and counsellors; nursery nurses and childcare workers - with specialist training to equip them more effectively for facilitating the early parenting process via routine care, visits and parenting classes. The training is to a professional level, and can lead to a range of recognised qualifications (at further and higher education levels) for professionals and parents to become themselves facilitators and trainers.
The period just before and after having a baby is a time when all parents - single and couples - face considerable strain. New mothers and fathers can dramatically benefit from the kind of support provided by PIPPIN. The learning they gain is designed to last, it is not just about caring for the newborn baby, it is about caring for the emotional needs of the growing child and parents too. Providing strategies and tactics to cope well with a new baby not only means significantly reducing the risk of an unhappy start to a new or growing family, but also greatly increases parents' self-confidence and self esteem for the challenges of the years ahead.
IS PIPPIN TARGETED AT DISADVANTAGED FAMILIES? Single parents and couples from any background benefit from help around the birth of the baby, and are much more open to learning and exploration than in later years. A recent study has shown that a substantial number of "low risk" women and men are "at risk" of psychological distress in the transition to parenthood. It is well documented, and statistically startling how many marriages and relationships break down around the birth of a baby - from all backgrounds. PIPPIN approaches are not prescriptive; they do not promote specific models of families, but do promote ways of adapting to cultural diversity and the many different shapes of families, so that parents from any background can give their baby the best emotional start in life.
WHAT MAKES PIPPIN'S APPROACH DIFFERENT? AREN'T CONVENTIONAL PARENTING CLASSES ENOUGH? Typical antenatal and postnatal classes for new parents are usually good, but almost always one sided. Classes typically focus on the birth and the physical side of looking after a baby. Most skate over or totally ignore the emotional aspects. Questions like "How will the birth affect you as parents? What emotions will you feel when the baby is crying? Will your baby really love you? How will dad feel when the baby arrives home" are not normally addressed in any depth. Traditional Parentcraft classes tend to focus on the mother, and are often clear lessons in what to do and how to do it. PIPPIN classes are run quite differently, in a supportive atmosphere, not as instructional classes. Focusing on the nuts and bolts, and the practical aspects of pregnancy labour, birth and care of their newborn baby, is simply not enough. Men and women need help to be able to respond to and cope with the issues and changes that arise with having a baby. They need to recognise and develop their listening skills. They need to develop healthy ways of communicating with their partners and babies. PIPPIN provides real depth. It focuses on the emotional and psychological needs of the family as a whole, on all the relationships, not just looking after baby. It adds an essential dimension missing from most classes for new parents. And the insights families gain can greatly help them too with problems often seen as mainly physical, such as crying, feeding and sleeping.
Very few fathers attend conventional Parentcraft classes, and those that do frequently feel out of place. In contrast, PIPPIN programmes welcome fathers as a vital element in the new family, and those that attend are helped to feel very much at home. PIPPIN's courses are also designed to support couples; to help both parents understand and communicate better with their baby and between themselves; to ensure that fathers become more confident and more involved, and do not feel isolated or excluded.
WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT PIPPIN'S PHILOSOPHY? PIPPIN is the only organisation in this field that provides services backed up by evidence-based research to substantiate its claims. PIPPIN puts into practice the latest understanding and research amongst leading academics. The classes are based on a proven theoretical framework, initially developed as a PhD research programme. The programmes are well researched, validated and accredited. Our philosophy is one that many healthcare professionals share totally, the idea that it is inappropriate to treat single issues in isolation. Having a baby is a major life event, with long lasting repercussions.
IS PIPPIN'S IMPACT JUST FOR THE EARLY MONTHS? No. PIPPIN provides learning that continues to make an impact years after the nappies and sleepless nights are forgotten! Sessions are designed to help provide a stronger foundation for all the relationships within the whole family for many years, giving parents increased confidence and greater self-esteem. With PIPPIN, you can take "new parents" out of a very specific and limiting pigeonhole, and place the arrival of a new baby in the wider context of relationships, roles and responsibilities.
WHY IS IT WORTH INVESTING IN PIPPIN TRAINING? For healthcare professionals, PIPPIN provides a route to formal qualifications, which can be an important step on a career path. Just as important, the formal qualifications translate directly into a better service for your clients. PIPPIN programmes are designed to make families happier and more secure. Ongoing research indicates that they work. The evidence is that children whose parents have attended PIPPIN classes are more likely to enjoy "secure attachment" to their parents. This is fundamentally important early on and in later years - children who have secure attachments are less likely to be disruptive and anti-social. There is a heavy cost attached to children who are not securely attached; both in human and financial terms to their families, social services, schools, healthcare and sometimes the prison service, investing in methods which encourage secure attachments saves extraordinary expenses in the long term. From the point of view of any organisation involved in community health, the dividends from investing in PIPPIN are clear. There are some hard measures that can be applied over a short time. There are measures that will take longer to assess. For example, the time when a new baby arrives is typically a time when marriages are at great risk, and the risk only diminishes after a child is about three. PIPPIN itself is too young for long term longitudinal studies to show evidence of its effect over more than a few years. However, it is our intention to continue monitoring the effectiveness of our approach and how it impacts on families in the long term. PIPPIN stands for proven preventative help at a very important stage. For example, it may avoid the possibility or reduce the impact of a mother or father suffering from depression - today a regular problem which absorbs large amounts of resources and money.
ARE PIPPIN CLASSES AS MEASURABLY EFFECTIVE? Yes. For example, precise research shows that, compared with parents who did not attend PIPPIN classes, mums and dads who have attended PIPPIN classes afterwards reported that they:- •
are less anxious
WHAT DO PROFESSIONALS THINK OF PIPPIN? PIPPIN's work is highly regarded at all levels. At a national level, PIPPIN's parenting programme was recommended by Health Select Committee Report (HMSO 1997), as "an important and effective preventative child mental health initiative, which local authorities and trusts as well as central government should encourage and support in order to ensure its long-term development." PIPPIN's reputation is also growing internationally. The Expert Committee for the European Regional Council of the World Federation for Mental Health commended PIPPIN as an example of excellence in its 1998/9 report, as part of work carried out by a Health Education Authority Project for the Promotion of the Mental Health of Children Aged 0-6 years. PIPPIN continually receives a favourable press in leading professional publications. PIPPIN is represented on a number of advisory groups, and works with many NHS Trusts, other charities and leading organisations including:
On a local level, wherever people see it, PIPPIN's work is highly regarded by practitioners, their colleagues and employers, and in academic circles. Research shows that PIPPIN classes are cost-effective and make a significant impact on outcomes. There is tremendous personal enthusiasm for PIPPIN's methods. The reaction we get from most health visitors and midwives when they first come into contact with PIPPIN's ideas and methods are comments like "I wish I'd had this knowledge years ago ..." "This is the way I feel I should be working ..." "This feels right ... " "PIPPIN fills a great gap in my knowledge and the service I've been providing my clients ... " "This is why I came into the health service ... ".
CAN WE INTEGRATE PIPPIN EASILY INTO THE PARENTING INITIATIVE WE HAVE ALREADY? Yes. Health visitors and midwives in particular find that it is easy to incorporate PIPPIN modules into their existing classes for parents. PIPPIN activities do not replace conventional Parentcraft classes, they are entirely complementary. With adequate training and support many health visitors and midwives can integrate PIPPIN parenting material with traditional NHS information and advice. PIPPIN trained health visitors and midwives report that it has become easier for them to work together and help their clients to a better family start. They also find it valuable to gain knowledge about other disciplines in health care, so that they themselves feel less isolated professionally.
PIPPIN classes are not prescriptive; the group facilitator does not give advice, but helps the individuals, couples and groups to explore their changing feelings, the needs of their baby, and their own emotional needs. They can address some of the worries they have, which in a less safe environment they may feel unable to face. They can voice their worries without feeling too vulnerable. The groups look at the changing relationships, roles and responsibilities before and after birth. PIPPIN does not prescribe any particular way of parenting or any one way of dealing with issues or problems that arise. Programmes include communication and problem solving skills for coping with family life. Where couples are involved in a programme, communication skills extend to supporting a couple and parent-parent relationship.
WHAT CLASSES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PARENTS? In the next few years, PIPPIN classes will be run all over Britain. At present, there are PIPPIN trained professionals and para-professionals working with their own client bases in NHS Trusts and other charities and institutions in London, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucester, Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Essex, Bedfordshire, Herfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Manchester and Lincolnshire. PIPPIN facilitators adapt the programmes to meet local needs and resources, but every parent-infant programme provides extensive support to each family. Each group typically includes four to six mothers, with the fathers if possible. The full programme for parents consists of:-
In order to make PIPPIN available to parents of all backgrounds, the intention is always to provide PIPPIN parenting classes free to participants, something which so far we have managed to achieve, despite receiving no core government funding. You may be able to receive funding from your employer to pay for the professional training available from PIPPIN; to discuss your specific needs and the costs involved, please contact PIPPIN administration on 01727 899 099. Costs for training facilitators are reasonable, and vary according to the extent of professional training required. Once trained, a facilitator can run as many parenting classes as he/she chooses. No royalties are payable to PIPPIN. But if you become an endorsed PIPPIN Facilitator or Trainer, you are expected to seek approved on-going training and have in place supervisor support in order to maintain standards.
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