Research Project

Science tools for your family journey

Two people walking down a tree-lined path, holding the hands of a toddler in a yellow coat who is walking between them. The person on the right is pushing a pushchair with their other hand.

From the Womb to the World (WoW) is a multidisciplinary group founded by the Essex Babylab researchers in collaboration with a team of independent practitioners interested in supporting child development.

We all share a strong interest in studying how parental behaviour and interactions with babies (inside and outside the womb) develop during the first year of life.

We want to promote ideas exchange and a better understanding of the real needs of the community, through the use of online platforms and events and workshops for parents and families. Our group is keen to promote:

  • Support: give families the support they need to facilitate and promote their relationship with their babies.
  • Empowerment: by providing the tools to learn and use the latest scientific discoveries, we want to facilitate the communication of evidence-based research in the community.
  • Continuity: from pregnancy to childbirth, new parents receive a variety of advice and information from different sources, with very little continuity throughout their journey. We want to offer a platform where new parents can be accompanied from the beginning of their pregnancy throughout the first years of life of their babies.

We organise annual public engagement events for parents-to-be and new parents, with the aim to make science-based information about babies’ development more accessible and to empower parents in their journey to parenthood.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for our next events!

Our events

Saturday 29th October 2022 - Baby Talk: From Signs to Words

This month we will be talking about language. We will be joined by Dr Claire Delle Luche (University of Essex) who will tell us about the evolution of sounds infants produce and how this relates to communication.

Nikki Hunt from Tiny Talk Baby Signing will then give us a free taster of baby signing and teach us some core starter signs that you can use with your baby!

Admission is free and all are welcome (including the small ones who may want to spend more time in the supervised play area).


Read more about this event
Our team of researchers in "From the womb to the world".)
Our team of researchers in "From the womb to the world".