This Tuesday, the government launched a communication campaign to help parents manage the first moments of their baby’s life. For pediatrician Fabienne Kochert and psychoanalyst and professor of child psychiatry Philippe Jeammet, this is a good approach that provides tools for parents to understand this crucial moment for the construction of babies, without forgetting to remember that not everything is decided during the first 1,000 days.
- The period of the first 1000 days runs from conception until the infant is two years old.
- These 1,000 days are important to prevent all kinds of pathologies that we call non-infectious, all metabolic diseases, diabetes, obesity.
- The government has made available a website which contains tools for parents and future parents.
This is one of the major axes of Emmanuel Macron’s family policy. This Tuesday marked the start of the communication campaign to help disoriented parents get through the key period of the child’s first 1,000 days. This is called “Being a parent also means asking yourself questions”. In addition to television, radio and print advertisements over the next two months, a website 1000-first-days.fr as well as a mobile application have been developed to provide future parents with answers to the big questions they ask about the first moments of a baby’s life.
A necessary vigilance
The period of the first 1000 days runs from conception until the infant is two years old. “It is during this period that the foundations of health, well-being, learning for life and for the following generations are laid.said Geneviève Chêne, director general of Public Health France, during a press conference on Tuesday. An environment conducive to health during these 1,000 days means better mental health for life, less risk of addiction, violence suffered or committed, less obesity or cardiovascular risk.”
This period is crucial for the proper development of the child and his health throughout life. He must be sufficiently stimulated, have a healthy and balanced diet and stable and reassuring emotional relationships. “These 1,000 days are important to prevent all kinds of pathologies that we call non-infectious, all metabolic diseases, diabetes, obesityadds Fabienne Kochert, liberal pediatrician and president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (Afpa). This covers the period of gestation but also the first years of the child’s life where epigenetics, that is to say environmental factors, have a significant weight. The environment acts enormously on everything that constitutes our body and that is why we must educate parents who must be vigilant.”
Everything is not played at this moment
The objective behind the site and the advertising campaigns, which will be broadcast from November 3 to December 7, is to provide help to young parents who sometimes lack information. “Parents feel a little lost, a little overwhelmed with information about this period. Our role, as public authorities, is to provide reliable and scientifically substantiated answers”, justified the Secretary of State for Children Adrien Taquet. “He is in his rolebelieves Philippe Jeammet, former professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Paris V and author of several books on childhood. He must take up what is important for health, such as for the vaccination of children where it is up to him to indicate those which are compulsory for good health.”
This campaign is designed as a toolbox from which parents and future parents can draw. “This allows parents to be informed so that they can be the best possible parents, but also to educate professionals because some general practitioners who follow children do not have all the keys in hand to analyze and understand the actions of a baby. , such as why he is crying”, abounds Fabienne Kochert. The website, which is already available, has a tab reserved for crying babies in order to guide parents or future parents to know how to react.
Not an injunction
But we have to be careful that the emphasis on the first 1,000 days is not taken as an injection to do too well for the parents and to slow down afterwards. If this period appears essential for the development of the child, it is not definitive. “Fortunately, human plasticity means that everything is not played out in the first two yearscontinues Philippe Jeammet. But it is true that the first days are essential and will mark life.”
For Philippe Jeammet and Fabienne Kochert, the emphasis placed on the first moments of a child’s life should not be experienced as an additional dose of stress for parents. “It’s good to be able to find support and advice to help us. It is from a perspective not of injunction but of support”, answers the first. “The key word is accompanimentemphasizes Fabienne Kochert. Having information on the best behaviors to adopt should be seen as a plus. It’s not about putting pressure.”
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