Kate meets Nuneaton NHS staff studying distress in babies

Children from Nuneaton schools gathered outside the venue to greet the princess

Catherine, Princess of Wales has met staff at a children's clinic taking part in a study aiming to improve the identification of distress in babies.

The princess also greeted young children from local schools during a walkabout near the venue - Riversley Park Children's Centre in Nuneaton.

The study has been funded by her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

The trial, in Warwickshire and Humber, is evaluating the use of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) in the UK.

Funded by a £50,000 grant, the project is being run in partnership with the Institute of Health Visiting and the University of Oxford.

The ADBB is used to assess how babies interact with their environment, focusing on eye contact, facial expressions, vocalisation and activity levels to help health professionals and families better understand the ways babies express their feelings, and support parents with bonding.

The Princess of Wales visited Riversley Park Children's Centre in Nuneaton, Warwickshire

During a visit to Denmark in February 2022, the princess saw how the ADBB model was used by health visitors in other countries to support parent-infant relationships and early childhood development.

Since the trip, Catherine and the centre have worked closely with the Institute of Health Visiting to explore the potential for implementing ADBB in the UK.

Princess Catherine met health visitors participating in the ADBB study, funded by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood

The model can also be used to recognise early signs of psychological distress, enabling specialist support to be accessed as soon as it is needed.

During her visit to Nuneaton, the princess will also call at a drop-in clinic and hear from families about the impact of the support they are receiving from their health visitors.

The ADBB trial is running for 10 months at the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.