About BASICS

Despite NICE guidance and national policy emphasising the important of attachment during pregnancy, frontline teams have lacked a consistent way to assess, support, and measure attachment during this crucial stage

Pregnancy BASICS changes that.

✅ It provides practitioners with a clear framework for observing and supporting the developing relationship between parents and their unborn baby.

✅ It helps identify when attachment is thriving, when it may need encouragement, and when further support should be considered.

✅ It is inclusive of ALL parents — mums, pregnant people, dads, and non-birthing parents — and is built to be culturally sensitive and neurodiverse-aware.

✅ It is quick and practical, taking just a few minutes during routine antenatal appointments.

By combining reflective conversations with structured observation, Pregnancy BASICS gives a more reliable and holistic picture of the developing bond — helping families build stronger relationships before birth, and giving commissioners the insight to evidence change across services.

How It’s Used in Practice

Pregnancy BASICS is designed to be flexible and practical — suitable for both short antenatal check-ins and longer home visits — and takes just a few minutes to complete. Both the free paper version and the digital upgrade follow the same core framework so that practitioners across services can use it confidently and consistently. Here’s how the tool works in practice:

Conversation Starters

During each trimester, practitioners use open-ended prompts for example, “How did you feel when you first felt the baby move?” or “Do you ever talk or sing to your baby?” These prompts are intended stimulate attachment behaviours, to invite reflection, explore emotions, and give parents space to share, without pressure or judgement.

Observational Reflections

During these conversations practitioners watch for signs of bonding across six areas: Physical Engagement, Verbal Engagement, Sensitivity, Emotional Connection, Lifestyle and Nesting behaviours. For instance, how someone talks to their bump, cradles their bump, or thinks about the baby. After observing, practitioners reflect on what they saw and heard and record it.

Observational Form & Analysis

Using a simple Observational Form to record what they see, practitioners score behaviours on a four-point attachment scale, from Strong through to Concerning. These scores create a total attachment score out of 18. The analysis highlights when attachment is thriving, when it may need encouragement, and when further support or referral may be needed.

Signposting to Support

Once observations are recorded, the tool doesn’t stop there. It helps guide next the steps — Whether that means universal encouragement, giving parents ideas and tools to deepen connections, or making specialist referrals when red flags appear. In the digital version, this includes tailored suggestions and resources based on the practitioner’s input.

Inclusivity & Sensitivity

Pregnancy BASICS is built to be Fair, Inclusive, and Sensitive.

Bonding behaviours can vary depending on culture, language, neurodivergence, or personal experiences, and BASICS helps practitioners recognise and respond to these differences.

The Free Toolkit provides clear guidance to practitioners on how to approach observations in a culturally sensitive and neurodiverse-aware way, helping them reflect on both what they see and how they interpret it.

The Digital Dashboard takes this further by enabling practitioners to record their confidence levels for each observation and note any barriers — such as language differences, cultural background, or neurodivergent traits. This ensures that the data captured is contextualised and that families are assessed fairly, without assumptions.

By combining practical guidance with sensitive data recording, BASICS supports practitioners to make balanced, inclusive assessments and gives services confidence that attachment is being measured consistently and equitably across all families.

Free Toolkit vs Digital Dashboard – A Deeper Comparison

Pregnancy BASICS is available in two versions, designed to suit the needs of both frontline practitioners and service managers. Both follow the same core framework, but offer different levels of functionality.

Free Toolkit

The Free Toolkit provides a simple, paper-based entry point for using BASICS in everyday practice. It includes:

Clear conversation prompts for each trimester.
Step-by-step observation guidance across the six attachment areas.
Scoring sheets to record behaviours using the four-point attachment scale.
Space for practitioner reflections and manual signposting to support.

This version is ideal for frontline teams wanting a quick, accessible way to begin using BASICS, introduce structured attachment observations, and support early conversations with families.

Unleash the Full Potential of BASICS with the Digital Dashboard

The Digital Dashboard builds on the strengths of the Free Toolkit and adds powerful functionality for both practitioners and commissioners. Practitioners enter their observations directly into an e-form, which:

Instantly generates red flag alerts and signposts to tailored bonding techniques.
Provides easy access to practical tools and techniques to support families at every level of attachment.
Records confidence levels and captures barriers such as cultural or neurodivergent factors, ensuring fairer interpretation.
Tracks attachment scores over time for both mum and dad/non-birthing parents.

At service level, the dashboard transforms individual assessments into live reporting:

Individual and cohort reports at the click of a button.
Visualisations of progress by trimester, observation area, and practitioner confidence.
Commissioner-ready data to evidence impact, inform planning, and support evaluation.

Where the Free Toolkit helps practitioners get started, the Digital Dashboard unleashes a full system-wide solution — supporting families in real time, providing effective signposting guidance and giving services the insight to plan, improve, and demonstrate outcomes.

Implementation and Support

Pregnancy BASICS has been designed to be easy to introduce into everyday service delivery, whether teams start with the Free Toolkit or whether they unleash the full potential of Pregnancy BASICS with the interactive Digital Dashboard.

The Free BASICS Toolkit

The FREE BASICS Toolkit can be downloaded and put into practice straight away. It includes all the guidance practitioners need to integrate BASICS into their everyday workflows: Conversation Prompts, Observation Sheets, Scoring Guidance, and Signposting Steps & Support Pathways. Alongside this, practitioners can access free resources and introductory training materials to build confidence in using the tool during routine antenatal appointments. Because it’s paper-based, it requires no additional systems or set-up — making it a low-barrier way to begin using BASICS. Simply register for the FREE toolkit, download it and get started today...

The Digital Dashboard

Services choosing to release the full potential of Pregnancy BASICS with the interactive Digital Dashboard benefit from a structured onboarding process, CPD-accredited training, and ongoing support. Practitioners are trained in how to complete the e-form, interpret dashboard data, and use red flag signposting to provide tailored support to families. Managers and commissioners are supported with guidance on accessing reports, monitoring cohorts, and using BASICS data in supervision, service evaluation, and planning. Ongoing technical and practitioner support is also available, ensuring teams can easily make the most of the system and integrate it into their everyday workflows.

Whether starting with the Free Toolkit or unleashing the full power of the Digital Dashboard, services receive the resources and support they need to embed BASICS confidently into practice — helping practitioners act early and giving commissioners the evidence they need to plan and improve.

watch the Digital Dashboard demo

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at catherinecole@pregnancybonding.co.uk if you cannot find an answer to your question.

Is the FREE Toolkit Really Free?

Yes - The Free toolkit is available to download once you've registered your interest.

Does BASICS take extra time in appointments?

No — BASICS is designed to fit into routine antenatal appointments. The tool can be completed in as little as five minutes, whether in a short clinic check-in or a longer home visit.

Is this replacing existing assessments?

No — BASICS complements existing antenatal checks. It adds a structured way to explore parent–fetal bonding, without duplicating or replacing medical or safeguarding assessments.

What happens if attachment concerns are identified?

If red flags appear, practitioners are guided to next steps. The Free Toolkit provides manual signposting guidance, while the Digital Dashboard generates tailored support suggestions and referral prompts in real time.

How is data managed and kept secure?

The Free Toolkit is paper-based and stored according to local record-keeping policies. The Digital Dashboard uses secure, encrypted data collection and is fully GDPR compliant, with access tailored to practitioner and commissioner roles.

What training and support are provided?

The Free Toolkit comes with guidance notes and resources to help staff get started straight away. For the Digital Dashboard, CPD-accredited training and ongoing technical/practice support are provided, ensuring teams are confident and consistent in their use of BASICS.

Who can use BASICS?

The tool is designed for use across midwifery, health visiting, early help, family hub staff, and perinatal mental health teams. It is inclusive of mums, dads, and non-birthing partners.