Brain-based discourses and early intervention: A critical debate for health visiting

Abstract

Neuroscientific discourses about early brain development and its plasticity have placed considerable importance on parenting, emotional nurturing and attachment during the first 1001 ‘Critical Days’. This has informed a policy shift towards early intervention in the early years, and is shaping public health practice in this field particularly health visiting. This article reviews these developments and outlines a critical debate that has been taking place among commentators concerned with how these brain-based discourses are being applied in policy. Concerns include the policy readiness of the science, the focus on parenting quality rather than contextual issues such as poverty, and that these developments are creating a new form of governance of families. In contrast, these concerns have not been debated within health visiting, raising questions about the profession's engagement with evidence and policy.