Launch of a New Infant CPR & Safe Sleep Guide

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) in partnership with University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) today launched a campaign to promote a new information guide designed to support parents and carers with essential guidance on infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and safe sleep practices. The resource aims to help families feel more confident in responding to emergencies and educate parents and carers about safer sleep environments for infants.

The launch coincides with World Patient Safety Day, which this year focuses on the theme “Safe care for every newborn and every child.” By giving parents and carers the skills and knowledge to protect their baby’s wellbeing, the new guide supports the global effort to improve safety and prevent avoidable harm in an infants care.

In the UK, around 200 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly every year with most deaths happening during the first 6 months of a baby’s life. Infants born prematurely or with a low birthweight are at greater risk. SIDS usually occurs when a baby is asleep, although it can occasionally happen while they’re awake.

Following safe sleep recommendations can significantly reduce the risk of these tragic events but it is also important to know how to perform CPR on a baby in case you need to help in an emergency.

The guide, which will be given to women at their antenatal appointment explains how to correctly assess a baby’s response and begin CPR in an emergency. Information in this guide is supported by the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) and has been developed in support of Rowan’s Rule, a campaign launched bya family whose baby boy tragically stopped breathing at home.

Rowans Rule

Like many new parents, Rachel and Christian Pepper didn’t know how to perform infant CPR when their one-week old son, Rowan suffered a cardiac arrest in October 2022. Despite NHS staff trying to save him, he sadly died a week later, as a result of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

In his memory, the Pepper family collaborated with Family Hub Derby to create an educational video that tells Rowan’s story and demonstrates infant CPR in simple steps.

Heather Johnstone, a former midwife and NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB’s Chief Nursing and Therapies Officer, said: “We want every parent and carer to feel confident in both preventing sleep-related risks and responding quickly if a baby becomes unwell. Rowan’s Rule is a powerful reminder of how vital this knowledge can be.”

Sarah Jamieson, Director of Midwifery at University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust said “Providing families with clear, practical information is central to safe maternity care. This new guide gives parents and carers the confidence to act in an emergency and the reassurance of knowing how to create a safe sleep environment for their baby. To mark World Patient Safety Day, we are hosting a range of promotional activities across the maternity centre alongside the launch of the Infant CPR and Safe Sleep Guide. By working together with our partners across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, we can help prevent avoidable tragedies and give every child the safest possible start in life.”

You can read more information and download the guide on the Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent ICS website.