Creative English for Infant Health: Bringing Families Together
Data and case studies are now in, from the hubs that delivered our Creative English for Infant Health programme. Across the board, it is becoming clear that we need to respond to the issue of infant mortality by including a range of family members in our courses, not just a targeted programme aimed at pregnant women.
Not all our learners were pregnant or even planning pregnancies. Many of the women who come to our classes are older women who are mothers, grandmothers and mothers-in-law. These women often occupy positions of authority particularly with respect to the younger women in their families, and it became clear that learners are going home and sharing new knowledge with their family members, especially when it comes to the importance of screening checks, dental care and maternal mental health. To quote one facilitator:
We have a lady in our class who says she has recently discussed what she learnt during a family gathering. She shared what she had learnt about a healthy diet and different health issues with women of various ages in her family. She said they discussed health checks, portion control and having a healthy pregnancy.
Another trainer explained how learning works within a large family:
B. is a grandmother from Bangladesh who attended the Infant Health pilot at Oasis Hobmoor. She attended the session on Screening for Sickle Cell and Thalassemia and said she hadn’t known about how you can carry the genes for these conditions, and how different people carrying the genes can cause a baby to be born with the condition. She went home and explained it to her family (she lives with children and extended family) and they were impressed at her knowledge, because they didn’t know about it either. Some of her family members spoke about looking into it further.
When I wrote my last blog about the Creative English Cardiovascular Programme, I said I was looking forward to seeing what the ripples of the Infant Health programme would be. After only three months, the ripples look to be spreading wider, and with more potential for impact, than I could have predicted in the Spring. We hope to continue to deliver the project across Birmingham in the autumn, but if you think it would also be a good fit for your community and wish to find out more, please email the Creative English team at [email protected]
