Good Enough Start (GES)

Good Enough Start is a preventative infant mental health service based in Millom. It’s vision is that all babies develop a sensitive, nurturing parent-infant relationship to lay the foundation for lifelong mental and physical health. The rationale for Good Enough Start’s service lies in the fact that insecure attachment is avoidable. Every infant, given the right care, no matter how challenging their family circumstances, can develop a secure attachment. A secure attachment impacts a baby’s physical brain development; it builds essential brain connections that lay the foundations for a baby’s future social skills, resilience and emotional wellbeing, influencing their ability to take advantage of life’s opportunities.

The GES provision is the first of its kind in Cumbria, working alongside public services. The project focuses on anything that might get in the way of a primary caregiver feeling unable to build a close parent-infant connection with a particular focus on the first 1001 days, empowering all caregivers to provide a ‘Good Enough Start’ for their baby.