Catherine Cole Founder • Head of Training • Programme Developer
Catherine founded Hands on Babies in 2010 following her own experiences of becoming a parent and her passion for helping families build strong, loving relationships from the very beginning. Over the past 18 years, she has trained thousands of instructors, practitioners and professionals working across health, family support and early years services throughout the UK.Her work has always focused on helping parents feel more confident, connected and supported during the earliest stages of their parenting journey.
Catherine is the creator of the Pregnancy Bonding Programme, a pioneering initiative designed to help professionals support attachment and bonding during pregnancy. Alongside this, she has developed Hands on Babies' Baby Massage and Baby Yoga Instructor Training programmes, helping professionals deliver practical, relationship-focused support to families within their communities.
At the heart of Catherine's work is a simple belief:
The relationship between a parent and child begins long before birth and continues to grow through every interaction, every touch and every shared experience.
Mat Cole Co-Founder • Creative Director • Father Engagement Lead
Mat brings a unique blend of family-focused marketing, creative development and parent engagement experience to Hands on Babies.
Before co-founding the organisation, Mat spent many years working within the toy and nursery industry, developing products, brands and marketing campaigns designed to support children and families during the early years.
His experience helped shape many of the resources, activities and family engagement initiatives that have become a key part of Hands on Babies today.
Mat is particularly passionate about encouraging greater involvement from fathers and partners throughout pregnancy, infancy and the early years.
Through his work, he helps ensure that dads feel welcomed, included and empowered to build strong relationships with their children from the very beginning.
His belief is simple:
When dads are engaged, children benefit.
Today, Mat continues to lead Hands on Babies' growing focus on father engagement, helping families create meaningful connections through touch, communication, play and shared experiences.
Beyond Training
Hands on Babies is about more than professional training. Together, Catherine and Mat continue to develop innovative resources designed to help families build strong relationships long before and long after birth. One of their most exciting projects is the Pregnancy Bonding Dragon Storybook Collection — a unique series of stories designed to help parents, babies and siblings build connections through voice, touch, storytelling and shared experiences.
Created specifically for use during pregnancy and beyond, the stories encourage families to begin building relationships with their baby before birth while also supporting communication, sibling bonding and early literacy. The collection reflects the wider Hands on Babies vision of helping families create meaningful connections throughout the first 1001 days and beyond.
Orginasations We Work With
Our Journey
Our Approach
We believe that relationships begin long before birth and continue to shape emotional wellbeing, communication, confidence and development throughout early childhood.
Across all of our programmes, we focus on helping professionals support:
- early attachment and bonding,
- responsive caregiving,
- emotional connection,
- parent confidence,
- communication and interaction,
- relaxation and wellbeing,
- and positive early experiences for both babies and parents.
Our relational approach combines practical activities with meaningful interaction, helping parents build confidence and connection through touch, voice, movement and responsive engagement.
Explore Our Accredited Training Programmes
Pregnancy Bonding Training
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Baby Massage Instructor Training
Specialist antenatal training designed to support bonding and attachment before birth. Includes touch & talk techniques and The Pregnancy Bonding Storybook
Baby Massage Instructor Training
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Baby Massage Instructor Training
Train to deliver nurturing baby massage sessions that support bonding, relaxation, communication and parental confidence.
Baby Yoga Instructor Training
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Learn to deliver engaging baby yoga sessions that support physical development, movement and early interaction.
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Baby Massage & Baby Yoga Combined Training
Our integrated training pathway gives you the skills to support families across multiple stages of early development.