74: Protecting babies from the effects of domestic abuse

Research by For Baby's Sake suggests that domestic abuse was a factor in almost 50,000 babies a year being referred to children's social care in England between 2021 and 2023. Our NSPCC Helpline domestic abuse project lead, Paddi Vint, spoke with Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of the For Baby's Sake Trust, about this research and what we can learn from it.They offered insight into the importance of services for pregnant families and babies being able to identify concerns and provide support. The discussion covered the difficulties with working out exactly how many babies are impacted by domestic abuse, blockers to parents seeking support and how important accurate language is to reduce shame and stigma around domestic abuse.You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.💬 About the speakersLauren Seager-Smith is the CEO of The For Baby's Sake Trust, pioneering trauma-informed and therapeutic support to break cycles of domestic abuse and give babies the best start in life. Lauren is an experienced charity leader, with previous roles as CEO of Kidscape and the National Coordinator of the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Lauren is a regular media spokesperson specialising in domestic abuse, online safety, and bullying. Lauren has held numerous board positions and currently serves on the Action for Children England Committee. Lauren is an Associate of the Institute of Responsible Leadership (IRL). Paddi Vint is a Quality and Development Manager overseeing the NSPCC Helpline domestic abuse project. She has been with the NSPCC in Belfast for over five years, joining as a Helpline practitioner and then working as a practice manager.📚 Resources mentioned in this episode> Read the For Baby’s Sake research revealing almost 50,000 babies are referred to children’s social care in England with domestic abuse as a factor> Watch the Channel 4 report on For Baby’s Sake’s research> Find out more about For Baby’s Sake> Learn more about protecting children from domestic abuse> Find out why domestic abuse is so prevalent during pregnancy with this For Baby’s Sake articleIntro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros