The outcome of these trials proved that the NFP provided a tremendous number of benefits to children born in poverty stricken environments (Mason, 2016).
[7] NFP aims to give mothers more confidence by asking them to recall past successes, as well as engaging them in problem-solving tasks.
[6] Bowlby's attachment theory holds that infants are biologically driven to bond with others, and this drive is reinforced by attentive parenting.
Further, it is the child–caregiver relationship that shapes a child's development, making the quality of parental care in early childhood vital.
[6] NFP nurses work with mothers and families to achieve three major goals, which include improving: "1) the outcomes of pregnancy by helping women improve their prenatal health; 2) children's subsequent health and development by helping parents provide competent care; and 3) women's own health and self-sufficiency by helping them set goals for themselves and take steps to accomplish those goals, including planning the timing of subsequent pregnancies.
"[9] Based upon such positive results from early clinical trials NFP was implemented across the United States in 1996 and contributed to the inclusion of funding for maternal and infant home visiting in the Affordable Care Act, of 2010.
[11] While NFP was developed to target mothers, the program welcomes fathers, partners, family members and close friends, to participate.
These sessions include completion of diet histories and tracking of weight gain, assessment and subsequent reduction of harmful health behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, training in identification of pregnancy complications, and coordination of help-seeking from nurses and physicians.
[31] In the UK the programme is known as the Family Nurse Partnership and has been backed by the NHS to deliver a service to 16,000 of the most disadvantaged new parents in the country.
A 2015 study from Robling, et al. found improved/earlier identification of safeguarding risks and a valued relationship between mother and nurse, but no benefit to short-term outcomes.
[33] In response, FNP has introduced Next Steps, which aims to increase beneficial outcomes, program flexibility, personalization, cost-effectiveness, and knowledge-exchange between services.
[34] A 2011 study found that NFP was successfully adapted into the Dutch healthcare system and was expected to have a positive impact on pre- and postnatal risk factors.
Funding sources include Affordable Care Act, Medicaid[43] and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
[45] The Center for High Impact Philanthropy listed the Nurse-Family Partnership as a high-impact opportunity in its holiday giving guide and elsewhere on its website.
[58] NFP has received favorable coverage in the blogs and opinion pieces of a number of think tanks including the Center for American Progress[59] and the Brookings Institution.
[60] Practitioners may experience burn-out given that nurses carry a caseload of at least 25 families, endure emotionally taxing work, and often lack agency support.