Kate Middleton launches exciting new project: ‘Giving babies a voice’

Kate Middleton and her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood have announced an exciting new project that is very close to the heart of the Princess of Wales.

The foundation announced on its social media handle saying, “Today, we are announcing further investment in our work to bring the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) to the UK.”

They shared the post with caption, “Giving babies a voice”.

Following the publication of a highly positive evaluation which recommends the approach is commissioned across the country, it said and added, “we will fund the Institute of Health Visiting to develop a guide to commissioning ADBB, create new resources tailored to a UK audience, and establish a national ADBB Community of Practice.”

The evaluation found that ADBB training strengthens understanding of infant social withdrawal and increases practitioner confidence in observing and interpreting babies’ behaviour.

Health visitors reported feeling better equipped to articulate the baby’s perspective and “give the baby a voice” in conversations with families.

By helping practitioners and families understand what babies are communicating from the very start, “we can identify where additional support may be needed earlier,” the statement further says.

In its detail, the charity says Kate Middleton first saw the tool in use when the future queen met health visitors in Denmark in February 2022, and the Centre has been working with the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) ever since to bring the benefits of the approach to families in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.