The Period of PURPLE Crying Program Educates Parents

A focus on fathers is a key part of the Period of PURPLE crying program.

This statewide effort to prevent traumatic brain injury among infants (Shaken Baby Syndrome), is supported by a five-year (2008-2012), $2 million grant from The Duke Endowment.

Challenge

Each year, as many as 1,400 infants in the United States receive medical treatment for inflicted traumatic brain injury, commonly known as Shaken Baby Syndrome. Of those, approximately 25 percent die, and 80 percent of the survivors experience lifelong disabilities from their injuries. A 2003 survey of North Carolina parents with children younger than 2 found that more than 2,000 children were shaken, to some extent, by a caregiver. In North Carolina, about 40 of these children are admitted to intensive care for injuries each year. Of that number, 10 die and 27 suffer lifelong effects from their injuries.

Parents Unaware of Dangers of Shaking Children

Shaken Baby Syndrome most often arises from frustration on the part of the caregiver, but unfortunately, few parents and caregivers are aware of the dangers of shaking children under 2 years of age.

Response

The Duke Endowment believes that educating parents of newborn children can significantly reduce the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome in North Carolina — and that documenting the success of efforts can help reduce abuse across the United States and globally. In 2008, The Duke Endowment joined with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control to fund a $7 million statewide launch of "The Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina," a prevention program developed by Dr. Ron Barr, pediatrician and professor of child health at the University of British Columbia, and his wife, Marilyn Barr, founder and executive director of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Educating Parents with Period of PURPLE Crying Program

The North Carolina project's goal is to educate the parents of each of the approximately 125,000 babies born in the state each year about the causes and dangers of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Project leaders hope to reduce hospitalization and death from abusive head trauma by 50 percent.

The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome created a DVD to help parents understand ways they can cope with their child's crying, which is being used in North Carolina through a program supported by The Duke Endowment. View this excerpt to learn more.

The Period of PURPLE Crying program includes an 11-page booklet and a DVD that hospital staff or healthcare providers review with new parents before taking their babies home. The "PURPLE" acronym helps parents understand infant crying:

• P – Peaks at 2 months of age
• U – is Unexpected
• R – Resists soothing
• P – the child appears to be in Pain
• L – is Long-lasting (from two to five hours)
• E – usually occurs in the Evening

The Center for Child and Family Health, a partnership between Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, is leading the implementation for this project, with an initial goal of reaching more than 80 hospitals across the state. Outreach also includes a reinforcement campaign at health departments and pediatricians' offices. The reinforcement campaign will place posters about PURPLE Crying in exam rooms and provide take-home cards with information to all parents or caregivers who bring in infants less than 1 month.

Participating Sites

See participating hospitals in North Carolina.

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