TOP 62 - Empowering Expectant Parents on Infant Safety via Resident-Led Safety Baby Showers

Publication Number: 1821.TOP 62

Heather Hirsch, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA, United States; Katherine Colville, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Hannah zwiebel, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, United States; Shannon Coleman, Emory University School of Medicine, atlanta, GA, United States; Brittany L. Perry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; Melissa Adams, Emory University School of Medicine, Mableton, GA, United States

Background: In the United States one child dies from an unintentional injury every hour. For infants, unintentional injury is the 3rd leading cause of death which has increased from the 5th in previous years. These deaths are often preventable and early interventions like anticipatory guidance and caregiver education during pregnancy can improve parental knowledge to promote safe behaviors at home. Currently, many expectant parents receive only limited structured infant safety counseling. Innovative educational models such as “Safety Baby Showers,” (SBS) are group events that introduce infant safety topics in an interactive way of anticipatory guidance discussions. SBS have been shown to promote self-esteem and reduce feelings of isolation for pregnant women. Utilizing pediatric resident physicians as SBS facilitators leverages the trusted voice of the pediatrician for families and equips trainees with practical skills in injury prevention counseling which trainees express an interest in developing.

Objective: Our project utilizes pediatric residents and community advocacy and professional groups to engage, educate, and empower expectant parents on infant injury prevention topics via group events called Safety Baby Showers. By December 2025, we plan to have hosted 12 SBS with an 50% increase in knowledge and confidence scores between pre-SBS and post-SBS surveys for parents.

Design/Methods: This is an ongoing project. We plan to host at least 12 SBS events total, or more as funding allows. To date, we have hosted eight SBS events with ~200 expectant mothers. SBS events were held in partnership with a group prenatal care program, Centering Pregnancy (CP). Station topics, selected in collaboration with the CP group included: safe sleep, home safety, child passenger safety, milk prep/storage, PURPLE Crying, tobacco cessation, and medical emergencies. Residents led interactive stations for each topic. We’ve been able to engage local and organizational community groups as well for resources and station leaders from the state Department of Health to our local injury prevention academic and community group. For the first five showers, expectant parents completed a pre-, post-, and a 6-to-9-month follow-up survey. We then shifted to a post-shower survey only out of ease for the participants. We tried long-term retention surveys with SBS participants but had less than 10% completion rates despite small incentives ($10 Amazon gift cards). On the immediate post-shower survey, parents overwhelmingly endorsed positive reviews of the showers as do station volunteers from residents to community groups.