BaBi news

This page has been produced to keep you up to date on BaBi Wakefield news and opportunities.

New exhibition celebrating families living in Wakefield District launched

Wakefield Museums & Castles’ new online exhibition explores the experience of families living in the Wakefield district who have recently had a baby.

The exhibition, entitled Born and Bred in Wakefield, introduces four young families who live in the Wakefield district. It features photographs, objects, and oral histories from the families as well as a film that documents their experiences of raising a family in the district in 2024.

The interactive exhibition also features the stories of midwives working for Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust as well as historic images of local families and hospital staff dating back to the late 1800s.

Councillor Michelle Collins, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, said “It’s wonderful to see the experiences of local families shared and celebrated in this new online exhibition. Born and Bred in Wakefield explores the highs and lows of being a new parent in Wakefield and it’s fantastic to have these stories captured for the future in our local museums.”

The exhibition complements Born and Bred in Wakefield (BaBi Wakefield), a research project which uses routine health, social and education data to create a picture of local people’s health and lifestyles over time.

Judith Holliday, Head of Research at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust said: “BaBi Wakefield is a really important study helping us to better understand the health and wellbeing of local families.

“The study will give valuable insights into what works well and what can be made better. Over time this will help to shape local services, creating a healthier environment for families to enjoy.”

The Born and Bred in Wakefield exhibition features the first-hand experiences of four different families who are all taking part in the research study. Malvika speaks about the realities of parenting her two-year-old daughter Mishka whilst being pregnant with twins. Bex shares the challenges of conceiving her daughter Lucy through IVF. Isabelle speaks about some of the anxiety she experienced whilst pregnant with her son Marco, and how she is keen to try gentle parenting.

Charlie shares her experiences of being a single mum to son Levi and her hopes to home school him so that he can have the freedom to be himself.

Charlie said: “I’ve loved being part of the BaBi Wakefield exhibition with my son Levi. It’s nice to be able to capture this special moment in our lives and share it with others. I hope Levi will enjoy looking back at this snapshot of our life when he’s older.”

The museum service plans to follow the four families over the coming years, visiting them each year to document how their children are growing up. This will help them to collect and share the experiences of having a baby in Wakefield District in the 2020s.

Cllr Maureen Cummings, Cabinet Member for Communities, Poverty & Health, said: “This is a wonderful exhibition that shines a light on four families in our district and their experience of having a baby in 2024. It is also helping to support health research to benefit other families, as well as adding to historical records.”

The museum service is eager to hear from other families who are interested in sharing their own stories. If you’d like to be involved, please contact Leah Mellors, Museums Development Manager at lmellors@wakefield.gov.uk.

View the Born and Bred in Wakefield exhibition.

BaBi Wakefield research study celebrates with Teddy Bears’ picnic

A world-leading research study which aims to find out what influences the health and wellbeing of families across Wakefield District and north Kirklees has celebrated its first year.

Families, babies and midwives came together yesterday to mark the Born and Bred in Wakefield (BaBi Wakefield) milestone with a teddy bears’ picnic in Thornes Park, Wakefield.

The event included stalls with information and advice for families, including those signed up to the study. Attendees were also offered a free family portrait, taken by a local photographer, and the little ones who came to the event were entertained by a bubble extravaganza.

The BaBi Wakefield study links together routine data from its participants, such as blood pressure measurements during ante-natal appointments, or the details of baby’s height and weight recorded by health visitors, to create a wider picture of the factors affecting local health and wellbeing. Over time, this will help to shape local services and create a healthier environment for families to enjoy.

The study opened in 2022 and, so far, more than 1,000 people have signed up to take part.

Amongst the study participants is Charlie who attended the first birthday party and said: “I’d heard about Born in Bradford and when I saw BaBi Wakefield on the news I decided to sign up. The main reason I joined BaBi Wakefield is the environmental aspect. I believe studies like this can make a real difference.”

Judith Holliday, Head of Research at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “A year ago, we could only imagine how many families would join us and we now have over 1,200 members of the BaBi family. Every member is helping to make a real difference to the future health and wellbeing of our local families.

“We want to say a special thanks to our BaBi mums. Because of them we have over 400 BaBi Wakefield babies. They might be small, but they are playing a huge role in creating a better future for our children.”

The BaBi concept began in Bradford, where it is part of the world-leading Born in Bradford research programme. The findings of the research have led to a number of local and international changes and improvements.

Anyone living in the Wakefield district or north Kirklees and receiving maternity care at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust can sign up to the study.

BaBi Wakefield celebrates 1,000 recruits

Born and Bred in Wakefield (BaBi Wakefield) is celebrating its 1,000th recruit signing up to the world-leading research study.

This is a significant milestone for the study, which celebrates its first anniversary this summer.

BaBi Wakefield’s 1,000th recruit is baby Orlaith who was born at Pinderfields Hospital in May.

Orlaith’s mum, Jodie said: “It feels surreal to know that Orlaith is BaBi’s 1,000th recruit. We never expected to be such a monumental number for the research project!

“I decided to sign up to BaBi because I was born in Wakefield and I wanted to be a part of shaping local services for my daughter and her children in the future.”

The aim of BaBi Wakefield is to link data across health, education and social care to create a bigger picture of families’ lives.

The study has been collecting routine data recorded from the services used by consenting parents-to-be and their babies since last year.

Routine recorded data includes lots of different things, such as blood pressure measurements during ante-natal appointments, or the details of baby’s height and weight recorded by health visitors.

Judith Holliday, Head of Research at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust said: “It’s really exciting to see so many people across Wakefield District and Kirklees signing up to BaBi Wakefield.

“By getting involved in research, every person who signs up is playing a key part in improving the health and wellbeing of families living in our area.”

Dawn Athorn Wright, Senior Research Midwife at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust said: “BaBi Wakefield is an incredibly important study that is helping to address the inequalities and priorities affecting the population of our area by working directly with the people who live here.

“We want to say a massive thank you to our midwives, staff, partner organisations and most importantly, the mums and babies who signed up, for helping us reach this milestone. This is a fantastic achievement made possible by every single person who has supported the study so far.”

Anyone living in Wakefield District or Kirklees who is receiving maternity care at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust can sign up to the study.

BaBi Wakefield celebrates 100th baby born

Born and Bred in Wakefield (BaBi Wakefield) is celebrating a major milestone of 100 babies being born into the research programme.

The study has been collecting routine data recorded from the services used by consenting parents-to-be and their babies since last April.

Its aim is to link data across health, education and social care to create a bigger picture of families’ lives. Baby number 100 was Vinnie, who was born in Pinderfields Hospital. Vinnie’s mum Chantelle is from Wakefield and signed up to the study during her pregnancy.

Chantelle said: “I signed up to BaBi Wakefield because it sounded like a good idea. It was easy to sign up and my midwife helped me through it during one of our appointments.

“I couldn’t quite believe my son was the 100th baby born into the programme. It’s a great milestone and it feels really good to know we’re playing a part in shaping local services and helping other families.”

Routine recorded data includes lots of different things, such as blood pressure measurements during ante-natal appointments, or the details of baby’s height and weight recorded by health visitors.

For example, as a result of the research on the link between air pollution and ill-health, Bradford Council has cleaned up the buses that pollute the air the most.

Evidence from the research has also led to recommendations in international guidelines for lowering exposure to acrylamide, a chemical which can be formed when starchy foods are cooked or fried at very high temperatures (for example, crisps and chips). Acrylamide can cross the placenta, and exposure during pregnancy can lead to a lower birth weight.

BaBi Wakefield was born in April last year and has been successful in recruiting both midwives and expectant families, recently reaching 600 recruits and exceeding the programme’s target for the first year.

Anyone living in Wakefield District or Kirklees who is receiving maternity care at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust can sign up to the study.

World-leading research programme born in Wakefield

A world-leading research programme that aims to find out what influences the health and wellbeing of families has opened in the Wakefield district.

Born and Bred in Wakefield (BaBi Wakefield) is a study that links existing data across health, education, and social care to create a picture of families’ lives. Over time, this will help to shape local services, creating a healthier environment for families to enjoy.

With consent from pregnant women, routine data recorded by the services they access themselves or for their babies is joined together anonymously. This helps to create a bigger picture of local people’s health, for research purposes. By looking for patterns in the data, the research can give valuable insights into what works well and what can be made better, helping to improve local services for the future.

Routine recorded data includes lots of different things, such as blood pressure measurements during ante-natal appointments, or the details of baby’s height and weight recorded by health visitors.

One of the first local mums to sign up to be part of the study was Mary Rogers from Featherstone. Mary’s son, Louie, who was born at Pinderfields Hospital on Tuesday 10 May, is the first BaBi Wakefield baby.

Mary said: “I feel really proud and excited that Louie is the first baby recruited to BaBi Wakefield.”

Mary and baby Louie’s midwife, Claire Dillon, said: “This project will contribute to improving the health, care, and wellbeing of people across Wakefield District.

“It’s really easy to sign up and only takes two minutes to go through the form with your midwife during one of your routine appointments.

“The population of Wakefield is growing and so by doing the work now, we’re helping everyone in the long run. By the time the babies in this trial have their own children, we could be seeing the effects of this study.”

John Ashcroft, Director of Research at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “BaBi Wakefield is a fantastic opportunity which will help to develop and improve health services for local people for many years to come. We will focus on maternity services initially, following our first group of participants through pregnancy, birth and into childhood. This will give us invaluable insights into families lives over time which researchers will use to look for patterns and early indications of where improvements might be made to facilitate even better child and family health.”

Councillor Maureen Cummings, Chair of Wakefield District Health and Wellbeing Board, said: “It’s so important that every child born in Wakefield District has the best start in life, and BaBi Wakefield will help make that possible. I hope all our parents and new babies will become part of the study, as the more people join, the more we will know about the health and well-being of our children and how to improve it. If you’re expecting a baby, or know someone who is, please do talk to your midwife about signing up to BaBi Wakefield”.

The BaBi concept began in Bradford, where it is part of the world leading Born in Bradford research programme. The findings of the research have led to a number of local and international changes and improvements. For example, a result of the research on the link between air pollution and ill-health, Bradford Council has cleaned up the buses that pollute the air the most. Evidence from the research has also led to recommendations in international guidelines for lowering exposure to acrylamide, a chemical which can be formed when starchy foods are cooked or fried at very high temperatures (for example, crisps and chips). Acrylamide can cross the placenta, and exposure during pregnancy can lead to a lower birth weight.