History:
The BC Children's Hospital Steering Committee on Shaken Baby Syndrome formed in early 2003 to examine the need and potential of a standardized prevention program for B.C. Marilyn Barr in her position of Management Consultant to the BC Injury Research and Prevention Centre conducted an environmental scan. Upon completion of the scan and on the recommendations of the final report, the British Columbia Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Program (now called Prevent SBS British Columbia) was formed. Ms. Barr was chosen to direct this program based on her many years of experience in child abuse prevention and her role as the Founder and Executive Director of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome in Utah, USA.
Prevent SBS British Columbia has just completed, under the auspices of the Centre for Community Child Health Research, a large three year clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of the Period of PURPLE Crying educational program. This program was chosen to become the prevention intervention for the B.C. program because of its positive teaching method and vital new information regarding the normalcy of early infant crying, especially inconsolable crying. This province-wide prevention initiative will be made public by early 2008, with a full-scale hospital and community health based education package. There will also be a public education campaign implemented in the media.
For more information about the progress of the program please read the Three Year Review.
Mission:
Prevent SBS British Columbia is dedicated to providing a primary prevention program that is ultimately aimed at achieving a substantial reduction in the incidence of SBS in this province.
We believe the best method of doing so is to: 1) educate the public about the normal patterns of early infant crying; 2) normalize the frustrating feelings that may emerge because of the frustrating properties of inconsolable crying; 3) understand that it is okay to place the baby in a safe place, walk away, and take a break; and 4) advocate that it is never okay to shake or hurt their baby.
Our goal is to provide timely, relevant, and scientifically sound articles and reports that give parents, caretakers, and the whole array of professionals involved in SBS cases the information they need.