ICON Week 2025: Mental health and coping strategies
ICON is a program embraced by health and social care organisations across the UK which aims to support parents/carers manage infant crying, helping to prevent serious injuries and fatalities caused by Abusive Head Trauma, often resulting from shaking a baby.
Every year, ICON Week raises awareness of how to cope with a crying baby and what support is available. This year, ICON Week focused on mental health and practical coping strategies. If you work with parents/carers who have young babies, the ICON website has a wide range of resources, including posters, leaflets, and infographics. A particularly useful resource is the ICON Crying Plan, which helps parents to have a coping strategy in place for when their baby’s crying becomes overwhelming.
On ICON’s website, they have a dedicated area for professionals which, as well as links to resources, includes guidance on 5 core intervention points, which mainly coincide with existing contacts by practitioners. The webpage also advises on further opportunities for engagement with families, in addition to these core intervention points.
Never, Ever Shake a Baby campaign
BSCP’s public awareness campaign: ‘Never, Ever Shake a Baby’, which first launched in 2022 in partnership with NHS Birmingham and Solihull and NHS Birmingham Community Healthcare, echoes ICON’s key messages. The campaign videos, demonstrate how stress can build when looking after a crying baby and how parents/carers can remain calm in those situations.
Dr Jo Garstang, who assisted in developing the videos, commented:
“Never, ever shake a baby’ and ICON are there to help professionals talk to new parents about the challenges of babies crying and show them safe ways to help. The films can be used as conversation starters, and mothers encouraged to share films with fathers and other family members who may not be at health appointments.”