In partnership with, and as a part of Surestart’s Child Centres holistic integrated service, Dorset based, AsOne Theatre has completed a pilot project entitled Hey Baby! for a group of around 6 parents and parents-to-be, telling and hearing each others stories; their journeys of conception to birth, using Lennart Nilsson’s images of ‘the miracle of life’ as a stimulus and a backdrop. This pilot has potential to be replicated regionally and nationally.

Research has shown that the feotus in the womb registers everything the mother is experiencing - her happiness and delight in her growing child, her distress, her fear, her anxiety. It is affected by alcohol, smoking, drugs, anger and violence and tension in the parental relationship, and is sensitive to music, noise and the quality of the environment the mother is experiencing.

Father’s have an important part to play. Care and a good diet and an un-stressful environment during the first three months of pregnancy are vital for the formation of a happy and healthy child, for it is during these months that the basic structure of the nervous system is formed. This structure includes the development of the heart cells, 65% of which are neural cells. The brain develops from a mass of undifferentiated heart cells before they form into the four cardiac chambers. The heart is connected to all the vital organs of the body and is linked to the cognitive and learning processes.

Parents have a variety of stories, some joyful, others more difficult and sad; many a mixture of the two; voluntarily relating their past stories has proven cathartic - alleviating stress and helping them and others on their new journey. Parents naturally become members of the world’s largest ‘club’ on the birth of baby with many bonding factors; individually their journey is a unique and fascinating story; together they discovered areas of universality, and have benefited from interacting.

A teenage version of the workshop is in progress this summer 2008 at Outlooks Children's Centre, Portland, Dorset.

Weymouth and Portland has the highest incidence of teenage pregnancy in Europe.

The Government says every child has the right to be able to reach their potential, supported from their earliest years in learning and developing life skills, so they can grow up happy, healthy and achieving their goals. This is good for children and families. It is also good for society – both economically and socially. Every Child Matters is the core belief for Surestart and the starting point for AsOne Theatre’s project, Hey Baby! There is an urgent need to aid the process leading to the end of childhood deprivation by educating parents. This practical, creative approach may just be a solution.