Chitral

The first 1000 days of a child's life are vital for brain development and future health. Responsive caregiving during this period supports social and cognitive growth, builds trust, and provides a sense of security. This research aims to adapt and evaluate a newborn parenting education program, originally developed for tertiary care, for use in primary health care settings in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The study focuses on improving parental outcomes and training healthcare providers while assessing the readiness of health systems to expand this program nationally. Participants will receive the Early Childhood Development Newborn Parenting Education Program based on nurturing care and caregiving frameworks proven effective in previous studies. This program will be implemented at selected primary health care facilities of Aga Khan Health Services in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The intervention involves educating parents and training healthcare workers to support responsive caregiving practices in newborns. Throughout the study, researchers will monitor quality of life at birth and track parental confidence, caregiver interactions, and early child development up to six months. They will use scales such as the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale and the Karitine Parenting Confidence Scale. The study will also assess caregiver responsiveness and collect early development data to understand the program's impact. The goal is to build evidence supporting broader adoption of this intervention in resource-constrained primary care environments.