October 16, 2024

5,000 local mums and babies join the BaBi Wakefield family

A public health study looking at what influences the health and wellbeing of families living in Wakefield District and North Kirklees has recruited 5,000 participants.

This significant milestone comes just after the Born and Bred In Wakefield (BaBi Wakefield) study celebrated its second birthday this summer.

Among the 5,000 recruits are one set of triplets and 37 sets of twins.

Photograph of Noah and Niall.Noah and Niall were the study’s first set of twins, born in March 2023 at Pinderfields Hospital. Their mum, Nikki, said: “I chose to get involved with BaBi Wakefield because I wanted to contribute to important research that could lead to healthier outcomes for local families. Being part of this study has been a rewarding experience, knowing that our participation could make a meaningful impact.

“I’m especially grateful for the wonderful BaBi team, who have been lovely to deal with throughout the process. I’m proud that my boys are part of this programme, and I encourage others to join and help advance research for the benefit of our community and children.”

Photograph of Louie and Francis.Louie Sunderland from Featherstone was the first baby born into the study in May 2022. He has since become a big brother to Francis who was born in November 2023 at Pinderfields Hospital, weighing 7lb 8oz. Francis has joined has his big brother in the BaBi Wakefield study.

Their mum, Mary, said: “I chose to sign up for BaBi Wakefield because I wanted to contribute to the future of our children. A better community equals a bright future for all.”

BaBi Wakefield works by collecting routine data recorded across health, education, and social care services. This data is joined together anonymously to help create a bigger picture of local people’s health over time.

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.

Dawn Athorn, Senior Research Midwife at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust said: “BaBi Wakefield is a huge public health study which aims to improve the lives of children and families. Recruiting mums in pregnancy allows us to follow babies from the very start to help us understand what has positive and negative effects on their physical and mental wellbeing throughout their lives.

“The response to BaBi from local families has been incredible and we’re now approaching the point where we’ll have enough data to start spotting trends and identifying patterns. The more families that take part, the richer the data will become. This will help us identify how we can improve local health and care services in the future.”

Everyone who accesses maternity services at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust will be given the opportunity to take part during their appointments with their midwife.

More information about BaBi Wakefield is available on the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust website: www.midyorks.nhs.uk/babi

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