A Mitcham woman who help parents and their new-born babies connect has been honoured for her work.

Yvonne Osafo, who also works in Croydon, was recently presented with the Churchill Medallion to mark the successful completion of her overseas research that she hopes will result in better relationships between parents and their children in the UK.

Ms Osafo said the first two years after a baby was born were the most important.

"My travels overseas gave me new ideas for how we can improve things in the UK by developing an integrated national strategy to guide the work with parents and their babies," she said.

"This will require the training and ongoing professional development of a workforce that feel nurtured and well cared for so that they are better able to nurture and care for parents and babies that are struggling to form a healthy bond."