Research into the effectiveness of the NSPCC’s Coping with Crying programme has found that in areas piloting it the incidents of reported injuries to babies with feeding, sleeping or crying difficulties was lower in participating parents.
For the past two years, 24 UK hospitals and birthing units have shown parents a film about how to care for a crying baby and manage their stress levels to reduce the risk of them harming their child.
Around 30,000 new parents have seen the film, with 99 per cent remembering the film six months after watching it and four out of five putting advice from the film into practice.
Non-accidental head injuries are one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in babies who are maltreated, with nearly 200 such incidents recorded each year in the UK.
Research has shown that crying can disrupt parents’ developing bonds with their babies, and in extreme cases can cause parents to get angry and harm them.
From May, parents in a further 19 areas will be offered the opportunity to watch the film either during pregnancy or soon after their baby is born. It is hoped to reach an additional 45,000 parents over the next 18 months.
One of these areas, York, will show the film to parents as part of their planned antenatal visits at one of the city’s nine children’s centres.
Janet Looker, York Council’s cabinet member for education, children and young people, said: “Every parent knows just how difficult it can be to cope with a crying baby, particularly if you’ve not had much sleep. This is a great opportunity to join a simple but groundbreaking project which could have huge benefits for parents and babies.”
The NSPCC film, developed with Warwick Medical School and Great Ormond Street Hospital, gives parents tips about soothing a baby and managing their own stress levels as well as highlighting the dangers of shaking. The 10-minute film is based on a US project that helped halve the number of incidents of shaken babies.
Chris Cuthbert, head of strategy and development for the NSPCC said: “This is a ground-breaking new programme based on the best international evidence. It is a relatively simple and low-cost intervention, and our evaluation shows that it is helping parents to manage the pressures of new parenthood and soothe their baby. It is critically important that we support families to reduce stress during the significant life changes that accompany the birth of a new baby.”
