Early childhood development (ECD) starts from conception till age eight. It is one of the most significant periods of human life span development. Investments in early childhood development yield socio-economic, transgenerational health and global development benefits. Responsive caregiving is one of the fundamental pillars of early childhood development. This is the period of human life span development that requires extensive support from the caregivers for a healthy start to life. Parenting and responsive caregiving in the 21st century, and specifically in this new-normal post-COVID-19 world has undergone massive challenges and consequently undergone a huge transformation. Globally, there have been various research studies that accentuate the impact of responsive caregiving and positive parental engagement on various child developmental indicators such as health, nutrition, safety and protection, learning and stimulation, and responsive caregiving. Our programme and philosophy are inspired by the WHO Nurturing Care Framework (Reference https://nurturing-care.org/) . It is essential to support parents and caregivers to provide optimal care and wellbeing opportunities to the young children to thrive for a better future and this continuous and involved parenting support needs to start before birth and continue until the age of eight. Considering the vital importance, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has initiated ECD PREP which will offer a wide range of services on Parenting Education and Responsive Caregiving by integrating education, research and services.
