New programme launched to prevent abusive head trauma injuries to babies

On 8 November, the Designated Nurses team  in North Yorkshire and York launched a new innovative programme to prevent abusive head trauma injuries to babies caused by shaking. ‘ICON – Babies Cry, You can Cope’ (ICON) is an evidenced-based programme designed to help parents and carers understand the normal crying pattern of young infants and to help them develop successful coping mechanisms.
The ICON programme has been initially funded by the four North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and delivers four simple messages before the birth and in the first few months of a baby’s life which will be communicated by Midwifery and Health Visitor services :

I – Infant crying is normal;

C –Comforting methods can help;

O – It’s OK to walk away;

N – Never, ever shake a baby.

These ICON messages have been demonstrated to help parents and carers manage the stresses which can be caused by normal infant crying. Midwives, Health Visitors and other professionals across  the region have developed ICON expertise to help give parents and carers the tools they need to help keep their babies safe. They have also produced an information graphic around infant crying which can be found here.

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