Our Standards
Parent–baby spaces are often the first places families land after birth — and they matter.
They shape confidence, connection, and belonging.
These spaces exist in many forms — from classes and groups to one-to-one support.
Parent Baby Spaces has developed a shared set of standards to support emotionally safe, compassionate, and inclusive environments across the UK.
Not as a regulatory body — but as a commitment.
To hold space for parents with care, respect, safety, and integrity.
Because in these spaces, something deeper is happening.
Someone is being led emotionally — even if no one says it out loud.
For those working as doulas, sleep coaches, therapists, and instructors, this is about more than what you offer.
It is about how parents feel in your presence.
Parent Baby Spaces offers two ways to be part of this —
beginning with a recognised foundation, and extending into ongoing learning and support.
The Code of Practice
The Parent Baby Spaces Code of Practice sets out the shared standards for anyone holding space for parents and babies.
It focuses on emotional safety, inclusion, safeguarding, and ethical practice — supporting environments where families feel genuinely safe, respected, and held.
This is not about regulation.
It is a commitment to how spaces are experienced by the parents who walk into them.
Minimum Standards for Registration
The Minimum Standards for Recognition set out the essential requirements for becoming a Recognised Parent Baby Space.
They ensure that everyone meets a clear baseline of safeguarding, training, professionalism, and ethical practice — so families can trust the spaces they enter.
This is about creating consistency, safety, and confidence across all parent–baby environments.
Safeguarding sits at the heart of Parent Baby Spaces.
All recognised practitioners are expected to hold up-to-date safeguarding training, follow local procedures, and respond appropriately to any concerns.
Parent Baby Spaces provides guidance and signposting — while responsibility for safeguarding always remains with the individual practitioner.
Safeguarding
A Shared Commitment
These standards are not about perfection.
They are about intention.
They recognise that spaces for parents carry emotional weight — and that those who hold them carry an important responsibility.
By bringing these commitments together, Parent Baby Spaces strengthens trust between parents and practitioners, and raises the collective quality of early parent support.
Practitioners - If you hold space for parents and feel aligned with these standards, you are warmly invited to apply to join the register.
There are two pathways to be part of Parent Baby Spaces — beginning with recognition, and extending into deeper learning and support.
Parents - Looking for a space where you feel safe, supported, and understood?
Explore our directory of recognised parent–baby spaces, where those holding these spaces have chosen to align with our standards.