A Stockport health service which helps guide young people through first time parenthood held a celebration for its tenth birthday.

Colleagues from the Stockport Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) joined with families who have used the service together with their young ones for a small daytime party to proudly mark a decade of dedication to the health and well-being of families.

The FNP helps mums and dads aged 19 or under with voluntary home visits and support. This includes visits from a family nurse from early pregnancy up until the child is two. Family nurses are Stockport NHS Foundation Trust health visitors and midwives who have received extra training.

With a home visiting programme, they provide invaluable support and guidance to young, first-time parents, empowering them to build strong foundations for their children`s future.

They are part of a national FNP programme which has an evidence-based method of promoting healthy pregnancy outcomes, child development, and parental self-sufficiency.

Over the past decade, the service has worked with 350 families, welcomed 323 babies, and graduated 178 families from the programme in the Stockport area.  

Working closely with health and social care partners as part of the Stockport Family, they have succeeded in enhancing maternal and child health outcomes, with improved breastfeeding rates, and reduced instances of low birth weight.

The FNP also empowers families to better reach their potential and to break the cycle of disadvantage, with two thirds of their clients returning to education or employment by the time their child is 18 months old.

The team celebrated its ten-year milestone together with families they have supported with a party at the One Stockport Family Hub (formerly the Abacus Centre) where some of their services are based.

Emma McDonough, Principal Lead for Health at Stockport Family said: “This was a lovely party, and we are delighted to be celebrating 10 years of an amazing evidence-based programme which supports young parents in Stockport. Our Family Nurses are highly skilled to provide this care and achieve the best possible outcomes whilst sharing their expertise with other professionals.

We believe we’ve helped not just these parents and babies but the overall wellbeing of the social community, promoting social cohesion and prosperity. We look forward to the next chapter of our mission, striving to empower even more families and build a brighter future for generations to come.”