The Baby Sleep Project is a series of research studies, stemming from our work preventing Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) with a wider remit to help protect vulnerable families and their infants. More information can be found on the study website at www.babysleepresearch.co.uk
Study 1: Family Survey & Interviews
This study aims to find out how families look after babies, including mothers, fathers, partners, grandparents and peers. We asked about looking after a baby, including feeding, sleep, products and advice. We invited the families of mothers who are getting extra support, including those working with Family Nurse Partnerships. The results are being analysed and will be published as soon as possible.
Study 2: Coproduction of The Baby Sleep Project resources
The Baby Sleep Planner is an online tool to assess risk and plan for safer sleep at times when the routine gets disrupted (eg staying away from home, after a night out). The tool shows the risks for a baby in each sleep scenario. This can be used this to plan for keeping baby safe on busy nights. We have completed the first process evaluation on this tool and published the results. The tool plans are now available in English, Polish and Urdu.
The Safer Sleep Milestones Cards for babies on neonatal units card has been developed in collaboration with the University of Bristol’s Baby Sleep Project, the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Bliss and The Lullaby Trust. Parents, neonatal staff and researchers have worked together to produce the card and it is now ready for piloting. The card is available in four languages: English, Polish, Urdu and Gujarati. The card provides a way of celebrating when babies can be cared for in ways that match the national advice for safer sleep. The safer sleep milestones card also acts as a reminder to unit staff to model safer sleep while babies are still on the unit so that this can continue at home. There are five milestones on the card with a space to tick each one off when it is reached.
A Letter to My Health Visitor is an animation created together with four mothers about their experiences with safer sleep advice, providing guidance for how health professionals can talk about safer sleep in a way that is supportive.
Your Sleeping Baby's Needs is an animation created together with the same four mothers which explains how to protect a baby's airway while they sleep.
Study 3: Realist Evaluation of the Baby Sleep Project Resources
This study aims to understand how The Baby Sleep Project resources work to improve uptake of safer sleep advice, including for whom, and in what contexts they work best. Realist evaluation will be used, including both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data will be collected both pre and post health professional training in the new resources. We are inviting neonatal staff, health visitors and family nurse partnerships (FNP) nurses, and primary caregivers of infants to take part. We will carry out qualitative interviews with health professionals and caregivers. Quantitative surveys looking at implementation for health professionals, changes in infant care knowledge and practice, and parenting self-efficacy will be conducted with caregivers. Mechanisms of action, contexts and outcomes from the new resources will be tested against initial programme theory. The findings from this research will inform evidence-based explanations of how to improve the uptake of health advice in priority populations.
Publications:
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