Press Releases
Durham Regional Hospital Promotes Infant Safety Through New Education Program
May 1, 2009Durham, NC- Durham Regional Hospital is now providing an evidence-based shaken baby syndrome prevention program called The Period of PURPLE Crying® for new parents who deliver at Durham Regional.
The program includes education from Durham Regional postpartum nurses who have been trained on Shaken Baby Syndrome, as well as a video and a booklet that parents can share with other caregivers of their baby. The program describes the hazards of shaking and gives them alternatives to use when they feel they need a break from a crying baby. These can include handing off the baby to another caregiver or going to another room while leaving the baby in its crib with the rails up for periods of no longer than 15 minutes.
Durham Regional rolled out this initiative in both its well baby nursery and Level II Special Care Nursery which provides care for at-risk, acutely ill, and convalescing infants as early as 32 weeks of gestation.
"While bringing home a baby is a very exciting time it can also be quite overwhelming," says Shannon Wineman, RN, nurse manager of the postpartum unit. "Parents and caregivers, regardless of their experience, often find themselves feeling helpless and frustrated. This program helps parents and caregivers understand that it is okay, they are not alone, it is normal to feel that way. The program gives them permission to take a break and regroup before any harm is done."
The concept of The Period of PURPLE Crying® describes the characteristics of crying in healthy infants. "PURPLE" describes normal infant crying -
- it Peaks at two months of age and ends at four or five months, and often earlier
- is Unexpected
- Resists soothing
- the child appears to be in Pain
- it is Long lasting (two to five hours)
- occurs more in the Evening
The word "Period" lets parents know that this experience of increased, frustrating crying is temporary and eventually does come to an end.
Training and supplies were provided by Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina. The goal of Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina is to reduce Shaken Baby Syndrome in North Carolina by 50 percent over the next five years; this represents the largest and most comprehensive intervention for Shaken Baby Syndrome in the country. The first step in this process is for all 89 hospitals in the state that handle deliveries to share the materials and message with all parents and caregivers of infants. This way, the program will reach every parent of the approximately 131,000 babies born in the state annually.
The Period of PURPLE Crying®, was developed by Dr. Ron Barr, a professor of community child health research and a developmental pediatrician at the University of British Columbia, and Marilyn Barr, founder and executive director of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Both Dr. Barr and Marilyn Barr are collaborating with the North Carolina project.
