The Pact baby group at HMP Swansea provides fathers with parenting support, skills and the time and space to bond with their new born babies.
Background Pact developed the idea for a baby group at HMP Swansea as a result of conversations between the Family Support Co-ordinator and new mothers who had partners at HMP Swansea. These women voiced their worries for their babies and partners, and their concerns about bonding. Fathers that the Family Support Co-ordinator spoke with said that they were unprepared to be a father – they had never changed a nappy, nursed a crying baby or rocked their child to sleep. Both sets of parents felt that if the father could experience these things before release, then life would become a lot easier when he became part of the family again.
Support Provided Pact and HMP Swansea developed a specific group for fathers whose babies had been born whilst they were in custody, or very soon before entering custody. Selection criteria, venue, discipline support and timings were all factors that had to be carefully considered. The baby group runs every fortnight for 2 hours, with a focus on bonding between father and baby. Baby massage, songs and rhymes, books and creative play are used to bring families together.
Outcomes Young parents in the group achieve a new set of skills through the group. Dads learn how to change nappies, check for teething, play creatively with their child and experience bathing their babies. Relationships between the parents are given the opportunity to grow, and fathers are able to understand some of the challenges and responsibilities involved with a new born baby.
The Family Support Co-ordinator commented that the significance of the group is highlighted when fathers are present for their baby’s first word or there to support their baby’s first step.
Challenges associated with the work:
- This new way of working (this is the only baby group in the male estate), needed some advocating at first.
- The regular member of prison staff required to support with the searching, escorting and supervision of the group was also a challenge in the current staffing climate.
What contributed to the success of the work:
- The attitude of key staff at HMP Swansea and their willingness to try something new were the driving factors behind the intervention.
- Pact’s work with social care has resulted in referrals in to the group, and relationships with other professionals developed through the group have also improved.
Following a write-up about the group in a national baby massage magazine, workers in other areas of the UK are looking to develop groups in prisons – for which the Pact baby group at HMP Swansea have set an exciting and original precedent.
