Derby couple say 'little progress' made since baby's death

The couple from Shelton Lock say parents are not given the basic tools

A couple whose baby died weeks after birth say their life-saving campaign in his memory is yet to be implemented.

Rachel and Christian Pepper, from Derby, did not know what to do when baby Rowan stopped breathing in 2022 - he died after a week in hospital.

They are calling for CPR training to be shown across the UK as part of the discharge process.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust says it is still supporting the initiative.

Baby Rowan stopped breathing at their family home in October 2022, and died a week later at Nottingham's Queen Medical Centre (QMC) from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

It is also known as "cot death", affecting about 200 babies a year in the UK, according to the NHS.

It has sparked the "Rowan's Rule" campaign, which aims for all UK hospitals to provide CPR training or give vital information on what to do in such emergency situations before new parents are discharged, says the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Rowan had been a healthy baby but suddenly became limp and stopped breathing during a feed

Both Mr and Mrs Pepper, from Shelton Lock, say they cannot understand why new parents must sign hospital forms to say they have watched a video of how not to shake a baby before leaving hospital, while there are no demonstrations or information provided on how to save a baby's life.

The couple have been calling on the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) and other trusts to upload a video of basic CPR training for babies on its website or on the trust's maternity phone app.

But a year after launching the Rowan's Rule campaign - they say little progress has been made locally so far.

Mrs Pepper said: "We've been speaking to people and groups for over a year but nothing has happened. Our last contact with the hospital trust was in July. Why hasn't anything happened yet?

"We have been told a baby CPR video may scare people. But we feel it is a duty of care to tell people how they can save a baby or at least give them an option to see instructions. I'm disappointed we are a year in and a simple thing like this has not yet been done."

Mr Pepper added: "This is not a SIDS-specific thing. This is a 'you've been sent out of hospital to look after this life' and you are not given the basic tools.

"We're just after a three-minute video which tells people what to do if their baby chokes or stops breathing - it wouldn't cost a fortune to sort out."

'Hugely important'

Last year the hospital trust said it would work with the couple in Rowan's memory and that it remained fully supportive of their efforts.

They say they have been engaging with local maternity groups to try and seek changes.

A UHDB spokesperson said: "Whilst national guidance for postnatal care does not currently include offering basic life support training, we looked at what changes we could make within our own hospitals on the back of our work with Rachel and Christian last year and the hugely important campaign they are running."

It also said that teams at the trust were speaking to parents about training materials they could access, and also providing this in leaflet form as part of their post-natal care.

"We remain fully supportive of Rachel and Christian in their work and our teams will reach out to them directly to see if there are any additional steps we can take to help support them further," the spokesperson added.

But Mr and Mrs Pepper believe the trust should be doing more, adding a video should be shown to parents rather than a leaflet.