Giving Children and Young People the Best Start in Life
A safer start in life: Why early support matters for babies affected by domestic abuse
Earlier this year, the Freemasons’ Charity awarded a £60,000 grant through the London Freemasons to the For Baby’s Sake Trust to support children affected by domestic abuse by providing counselling and emotional support to disadvantaged parents.
One in five children in the UK experience domestic abuse.
Babies are particularly affected as exposure to domestic abuse from conception until age two can affect cognitive, emotional, and physical development. When these issues are left unresolved, trauma in infancy can lead to challenges in later life that affect the child and wider society. These include: an increased likelihood of mental health issues, struggling at school, substance misuse, criminal behaviour, experiencing domestic abuse, or being abusive themselves.
The For Baby’s Sake Trust empowers parents to break cycles of abuse, to transform the life-chances for whole families, in particular the baby.
The recent grant awarded on behalf of London Freemasons will help fund the charity’s Therapeutic Practitioners in the hopes of developing supportive, meaningful, working relationships with parents. This approach provides a safe and therapeutic environment for parents to explore their behaviours and take positive steps to break the cycle of domestic abuse.
Against the odds: One dad’s story:
The For Baby’s Sake Trust supported a father experiencing significant mental health challenges, substance misuse, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to make lasting changes and build a future with his baby son.
When his son was born four weeks prematurely, he was placed in foster care. Despite the challenges he faced, Dad was determined to gain custody and provide a safe, loving home. With support from his Therapeutic Practitioner, he began to understand the roots of his anger, address his emotional difficulties and recognise how his past experiences had influenced his behaviour.
Dad committed fully to the programme, attended additional support services and worked closely with Children’s Social Care to demonstrate that he could safely care for his son. Gradually, professionals began to recognise the progress he was making and the potential for him to parent independently.
At the final court hearing, Dad was granted full custody of his baby boy. The court recognised his commitment to change, and his son’s name was updated to include his paternal surname, acknowledging the importance of his family identity.
Dad continues to be a very proud father. He often tells his Therapeutic Practitioner he can’t believe how lucky he is and loves every minute of the time he has with the baby. He no longer feels defined by his past experiences.
The For Baby’s Sake Trust is confident that he has learned from his experience and has now become a wonderful Dad, proving that early, specialist intervention can help families build safer, more positive futures.
By supporting the For Baby’s Sake Trust, London Freemasons will help more families to overcome similar challenges.
Calling for early intervention
A recent investigation carried out by the For Baby’s Sake Trust revealed that an estimated 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are made to maternity services each year.
This finding follows a Freedom of Information enquiry made to all NHS Trusts by the For Baby’s Sake Trust.
“Domestic abuse during pregnancy can have significant psychological and physical consequences. It is associated with poorer maternal mental health and adverse obstetric outcomes,” said Dr Panos Vythoulkas, Lead Perinatal Clinical Psychologist, Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service, North London NHS Foundation Trust.
For babies, the impact may begin before birth and continue after delivery, particularly where trauma affects a parent’s sense of safety, emotional availability, and confidence in responding to their baby. These effects can contribute to patterns of trauma and relational difficulty across generations.
“A compassionate and coordinated response at the point of disclosure can therefore matter greatly for the pregnant woman, for her baby, and for the wider family system.”
This investigation has highlighted shortcomings in current patient care with about 3.3% of NHS maternity bookings in England involving a disclosure of domestic abuse.
“For people subject to domestic abuse, pregnancy can be an extremely frightening time, with abuse often escalating alongside fears for their own life and their child’s,” said Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales.
“We know survivors are more likely to disclose to healthcare workers than to any other professional, but too often opportunities are missed or victims don’t get the vital support they need at a time when they’re most vulnerable.
That’s why midwives, GPs and every other professional involved in someone’s pregnancy must have the training, confidence and support to be able to recognise domestic abuse and then respond appropriately. We owe it to survivors and their babies to make sure no appointment is a missed opportunity to tackle and prevent domestic abuse.
Judith Rees, the Chief Operating Officer and Designated Safeguarding Lead at the For Baby’s Sake Trust said, “Midwives need to understand the impact domestic abuse can have on a parent and their baby, be able to recognise risk and respond safely, and know where to go for specialist support. Pregnancy and the early postnatal period give us a critical window to intervene, and when we get that response right, we have an opportunity to improve outcomes for parents and babies.”
The positive difference made by charities like the For Baby’s Sake Trust shows why the support from the Freemasons’ Charity is so vital.
Every grant, donation, and partnership helps to bring this life-changing support to more parents and babies, ensuring that vulnerable families are not left to face these challenges alone.
