NSPCC 'I promise' dvd. Anyone else seen it? (non accidental injury to children)

[PictureMeInThese]

I originally posted this in chat but got no response.
My sister has just a lovely new snuggly baby
I picked her, BIL and DN up from the hospital a few hours after she gave birth. We were waiting for her to be discharged when the mw came in and explained she'd like to show DS and BIL a DVD from the NSPCC for research (IIRC).
So we watched it. It was mostly interviews with parents of babies talking about coping mechanisms for coping with crying babies. It also showed (quite graphically) what happens to a baby when it is shaken.
Now, I think the NSPCC are great, but we were sat open mouthed after watching this.
Don't get me wrong it was a well done film done sensitively and I can see that it would be a useful resource for new parents, but DN was 4 hours old. Parents still on a high after giving birth and then being shown this. I thought the timing was completely inappropriate.
After they'd watched the dvd they had to sign a form with 'I promise' on the top. I think this was the consent for the research, but the way it was presented it felt very much like they were signing a form promising not to shake their baby.
I don't know, i just felt very uncomfortable about it. AIBU?

[littlewhitebag]

I am a child protection SW and I think this is a great idea. Many babies are not injured on purpose but because parents have reached the end of their tether and reacted in an instant. Or they have not realized how their baby could be injured if mishandled. There is no 'type' of people who abuse their children. I have spent hours in children's wards with distraught parents who have harmed their children in this way.

[Kat101]

What about home births? Are the babies not deemed at risk? Or does the midwife deliver the baby then whip out a DVD and head towards your Panasonic?

And how can this be research? Would they log your details and match them to babies admitted to A&E with suspected head injuries? To see if the DVD was a deterrent?

There was a tv in the antenatal scanning waiting room graphically showing the risk of leaving your baby in the bath to go and answer the door. It gave me nightmares for weeks. If I'd had to watch a baby being shaken it would've wrecked my first few days. Surely better to have it as part of postnatal checks somehow?

[Mrsrobertduvall]

I have heard some rubbish on here but Mosman's profiling comment takes the biscuits.
Do tell me what a shoplifter looks like.
And someone who parks illegally.

[McNewPants2013]

www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/resourcesforprofessionals/underones/preventing_nahi_wda85611.html

I think it is a good idea, but 4 hours after having a baby is bad timing.

[GaryBarlowsPants]

Shaking is the most common form of abuse related death for babies, and children are statistically most at risk from Non Accidental Injury in the first year of life. As littlewhitebag says, many parents don't deliberately harm their children, rather get to their wits end, and lose their temper not realising how serious shaking can potentially be.
The dvd offers ways to cope with crying whilst feeling exhausted.
I totally understand how it could be distressing to watch so soon after giving birth however a similar campaign in the US showed a 47% fall in the rate of shaking over a five year period, and so I personally feel it is extremely worthwhile.
I say this as the parent of a premature baby who cried 'a lot' in her first year of life and at times, I felt completely helpless. I think a Dvd like this one would have been very helpful.
I do however think that a midwife, or other support worker should be present and trained to answer questions and counsel the parents if needed. As far as I'm aware a Maternity Assistant is present when this dvd is shown in my local hospital.

[sunshinesue]

I saw it. It's very upsetting but it's meant to be and I think it was very well done. It's based on something done in the us that has drastically reduced the number of babies being shaken and injured. Whilst difficult to watch I'm glad I did. Nobody likes to think of themselves as a potential child abuser but I've no doubt this film stays with people and could just pull someone back if they were really on the edge.
to compare it to a profit making enterprise such as bounty is ludicrous.p

[Mitchdafish]

Littlewhitebag and thanks for sharing your experience.
The video is acceptable if parents a) are told honestly what it is about and what it's purpose is and b) feel no pressure to agree to watch it.
I think women are not told exactly what it is about. If told 'this video talks about the stresses of looking after a newborn, some tips for handling those stresses, and shows how shaking a baby can cause serious harm or even death to a baby' then the message has got across whether people choose to watch it or not.
kat101 yes, they must match details, but what about data protection... more info on the NSPCC web site I think. Similar programme in the USA had positive results, reducing head injury. But no-one is measuring the emotional impact on the majority of parents.
Plus: the signing! Urgh.

[aamia]

I think also, that they should put a card with the mumsnet website address on it, in every new mum's hand.

My DS cried endlessly with his tongue tie, all day sometimes because he was hungry, bless him, and when he fed he got too much wind and it hurt. It was posting on here, getting advice, and that magic person who said 'check him for tongue tie, this is what it looks like' that kept me sane. Other parents who said it's ok to just pop him in the Moses basket and leave him for a bit if you've checked everything, who gave tips and advice. Without them those first few weeks would have been so much harder.

[nellyjelly]

The school volunteers undergo rigorous training and are well supervised.

[jammiedonut]

I agree probably not the best timing but definitely a useful tool for all parents. It may seem insensitive but that euphoric period doesn't last long for some people and even a few hours of crying can cause people to behave irrationally. I didn't need a video to tell me not to shake my baby but would sure have liked advice on how to deal with the sleep deprivation and constant crying. It took my hv all of two minutes to explain that I could leave the room and count to ten to calm down but up until that point I had NO IDEA that it was acceptable to do this.
If I were a more vulnerable person I dread to think what I could have done to myself or my child, so something like this video could be massively helpful. If it only saves one child but pisses off some parents that's fine by me

[sunshinesue]

Mitch, yes we were warned of distressing content and there was no pressure to watch at all. The nspcc worker came back and was available to answer questions afterwards (i watched it at my bed on a laptop) but I don't know what her specific qualifications were. I didn't like signing the pledge, that seemed unnecessary.

[Sunnysummer]

Even nannying before, I never really understood the whole baby-shaking thing - I mean, sure babies cried, but I always wondered why people couldn't manage... Then I had our DS, who has suffered from reflux and volvulus and who feels like he has barely stopped crying since birth, including one memorable 24 hour period where he cried for a total of 9 hours and slept for 8. My baby is so loved and so wanted and we have masses of support... And yet, there have still been times where I am so exhausted and fed up that I've felt about 2 screams away from leaving him on a church porch (or much worse). At times like these, I am so full of admiration for people in much more challenging positions (from unsupported teen parents to fed-up caregivers on minimum wage) who manage it, and so much sadness and sympathy for those who break.

The research in the US showed a dramatic impact of this promise (can anyone link to it? I'm a tech numpty and on my phone so cannot)... So, although the timing was bad, this is a really important message for the people who need to hear it, and frankly isn't going to permanently scar the ones who don't.

[Snazzywaitingforsummer]

The signing a pledge seems a bit daft. What are they going to do, whip it out in court after a shaking incident and say 'and what's even worse, s/he'd promised not to!'

Re Mosman's comments - 'there's a profile' is overreaching but there was a pattern of mums' boyfriends abusing children when I worked with a service dealing with related issues, and as she says, they won't have watched the video, most likely.

[pleiadianpony]

My God! I am actually close to tears thinking I might get subjected to this straight after I give birth.

AND I am trained in Child Protection. I can of course see the point but I think that there are probably better ways of giving this message to parents. Better timed ways.

Two big sticks in the hospital bag then.... one for the Bounty Lady, one for the NCPCC lady...

[IneedAsockamnesty]

You would be surprised at the amount of people who don't know about shaken baby syndrome, mainly idiots who think its ok to be chucking nearly newborns around because they are playing and that apparently it will toughen the baby up.

Videos like that would certainly help with that.

[BridgetBidet]

I'm going to try and look this up so bear with me - but I remember reading some research on this a while back and the conclusion was that if men watched this video it drastically reduced the rate of shaking injuries in babies. It was specifically men it was aimed at though, don't know why they would make the mother watch it bearing that in mind and given that she has just given birth. I think the idea is that it was going to be targeted at high risk couples.

If they have managed to prove that this lowers the rate of these injuries to babies then surely it's worth it?

[Twattybollocks]

I think it's a good thing but maybe at the 5 day midwife visit when the heel prick is done rather than immediately after birth. Like others on here, before I had kids I could not understand how anyone could shake a baby, but now as a seasoned mum of 3 I openly admit that there have been many many times when I have had to put them in the cot, shut the door, and go and have a cigarette to calm myself down.

[BridgetBidet]

Yeah, just found this article in the Guardian:

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/09/shaken-baby-injuries-nspcc-education-parents

"There has been somewhere in the neighbourhood of a 55% reduction in comparison with the rate before it started ? which is about 40% lower than incidence rates in the UK and other places in the US," said Dias. "It came down and it stayed down even during the recession."

Given that level of reduction in injuries I think that a few parents being a bit upset is an okay price to pay to avoid dead or brain damaged babies.

[sunshinesue]

Bridget, I was told it was deliberately not targeted at anyone in particular so as to avoid any stigma associated with watching it. They made a point of inviting everyone to watch. It would be just awful if they selected just a few "high risk" couples. Can you imagine being tagged as a potential child abuser before you'd even taken your baby home?

[Fakebook]

I think it's a good idea. Infact I think there should be a compulsory parent class or DVD for new parents teaching them about following instincts and ways to calm your baby.

Maybe 4 hours after birth is too early, but they obviously wanted them to watch it before they took the baby home. It can only take one bout of crying and a tired parent for shaking to happen.

[Fillyjonk75]

I just find myself really disliking the NSPCC at times. I think I'd have ripped up the form in front of whoever gave it to me and have given the DVD back if I knew what was in it.

[Yonilovesboni]

I remember this. I said I didn't want to watch it, and was told I wouldn't be discharged or allowed to take my baby if I didn't watch and sign the form! Just what I wanted a couple of hours after birth.

[McNewPants2013]

Perhaps the best time is before the baby is born.

[whiteandyellowiris]

why don't they show it in antenatal classes?

can you view it online?

[singingmum]

Yet another reason I will never support the NSPCC. They take everything to the greatest extreme and I can guarantee that Home educators like my self will never be involved in any of their so called child protection talks or anything else. They have targeted us as a group and made many people I have spoken with feel like crap. They have used inflated and falsified information to bully parents who chose differently to what they believe to be the right way to raise a child.
Has anyone listened to the wording of actors in their adverts when supposedly saying things that show abuse ie.'Your doing my head in now do as your told or else'
I'm quite sure they believe that children should not be taught that there are consequences to bad behaviour and that all parents are evil sorry but that's how they feel.
I know that they provide a service but they are now going to far. Yes parents should be taught that there are ways to handle a grissly baby but there are better ways that don't make a parent feel bad before they've really gotten started