‘Nanny state’ trial scheme to help mothers-to-be

BRITISH mothers are to be targeted for help before their babies are even born in the hope of steering the children away from lives of crime, poverty and delinquency in a scheme promoted by outgoing British prime minister, Tony Blair.

Mr Blair yesterday met healthcare workers who will be piloting the Nurse-Family Partnerships, offering intensive support to mothers-to-be identified as most at risk of social exclusion.

Mr Blair dismissed suggestions the scheme would stigmatise poor mothers, and insisted the state could not afford to be “prissy” about intervening in their lives.

“It is easy to get into this argument about whether you are stigmatising people or not,” he said.

“Actually, it has got nothing to do with that. It is to do with what is the best and most appropriate form of help that gives them a chance of making something of their lives.

“I think we can be far too prissy about whether we intervene or not.”

The government has launched a £7.5 million trial of the initiative, which sees nurses or health visitors make weekly visits to families, beginning when mothers-to-be are 16 to 28 weeks pregnant and ending when the child turns two.

The health worker will counsel mothers on diet, exercise and relationships and teach parenting skills.

The scheme is being piloted in 10 areas in England, including London boroughs Tower Hamlets and Southwark, and Manchester and Barnsley. The US version is said to have saved four times as much as it cost because of the sustained impact of educating parents.