About this course
‘Understanding your baby’ is for everyone around a new baby: supporting you and the new arrival from birth to 12 months.
This course gives you information about your baby's brain development and your baby's physical and emotional development. It shows how important your relationship with the baby is for the baby's development.
It integrates the traditional information given on a postnatal course with this new approach to developing your relationship with your baby. It looks at your baby’s sleeping, feeding, crying, playing and childcare options.
If you have already done the Solihull Approach antenatal course 'Understanding pregnancy' you may recognise some of the Units about feelings and support, You may want to think about this again, now you have your baby. If you are a Dad you may recognise parts of the Module for fathers, but you may want to look at the Units again.
The course has content you can trust. It was developed by Health Visitors working with health professionals including Clinical Psychologists in the Solihull Approach team. This course has the same content as a postnatal group. So even though most of you can't attend a face to face postnatal group during COVID-19 you can be reassured that the same postnatal course is right here for you, if you carry on to the end of the course.
This is a course, a journey through knowledge. If you are looking for information on specific topics you might prefer NHS Choices.
There are 11 modules, each taking around 20 minutes, with a certificate at the end of the course. There are interactive activities, quizzes and video clips. There is an optional voiceover.
If you are doing this postnatal course, you are likely to have a baby. And if you have a baby you are probably feeling tired! We do not recommend that you do this course in one go. There is a lot to take in and it is best done in small chunks, maybe a Module at a time if you can manage it.
By the way, if you'd like to give us any feedback on the course as you go along to help us improve it, you'll see a speech bubble in the bottom right corner. Just click and type!
Keep going till the end as we know that parents and grandparents get a lot out of the course! (And you'll get your certificate!)
1. Understanding feelings: Both your own & your baby's
Understanding feelings: both your own & your baby's
11 Units-
View Unit1.1 Welcome!
- 1.2 About this course
- 1.3 A few questions
- 1.4 How was the birth?
- 1.5 How are you feeling today?
- 1.6 How does it feel to be a parent?
- 1.7 Who is helpful to you and how?
- 1.8 Calming you, calming baby
- 1.9 Helping your baby to process their emotions and anxiety
- 1.10 Relaxation and breathing
- 1.11 Home Activity: Notice one new thing
3. Understanding your baby's crying
Understanding your baby's crying
11 Units- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 What do babies communicate?
- 3.3 How do babies communicate?
- 3.4 Views on crying
- 3.5 Is it true? You can spoil a baby by picking him up too much when he cries?
- 3.6 Is it True? Babies need to cry as it’s good for their lungs
- 3.7 Is it True? Leaving a baby to cry will teach them to comfort themselves
- 3.8 Is it True? You should never leave a baby to cry
- 3.9 Is it True? Parents are biologically designed to want to respond to their baby’s cries
- 3.10 Is it True? Crying is an instinct; a baby hopes someone will respond to them
- 3.11 Recap and Home activity
4. How to respond to crying
How to respond to crying
8 Units- 4.1 Introduction and Home Activity
- 4.2 Responding to crying
- 4.3 Dealing with not knowing
- 4.4 Why some babies cry more than others
- 4.5 Crying due to pain such as colic, reflux or birth trauma
- 4.6 What might affect how a parent responds to crying?
- 4.7 Why does how a parent feel affect their response to crying?
- 4.8 Recap and Home Activity
6. Developing healthy sleep patterns
Understanding your baby's rhythms and developing healthy sleep patterns
9 Units- 6.1 Introduction and Home Activity
- 6.2 Helping babies to develop healthy sleep patterns
- 6.3 Why is sleep important for a baby?
- 6.4 How long should a baby sleep?
- 6.5 What helps you get to sleep?
- 6.6 What helps your baby get to sleep?
- 6.7 Where should babies sleep?
- 6.8 Crying and sleep
- 6.9 Home Activity: One new thing and Recap Quiz
7. Understanding your baby's feeding
Understanding your baby's feeding
9 Units- 7.1 Introduction and Home Activity
- 7.2 Your baby’s feeding pattern and cues
- 7.3 How is your baby's feeding pattern changing?
- 7.4 Mealtime memories
- 7.5 Current advice about introducing your baby to solid foods
- 7.6 Changes in advice over time
- 7.7 More information about introducing solid foods
- 7.8 Preparing to introduce solid foods
- 7.9 Home activity: Something that’s new in your baby’s development
