Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre

10/09/2026

Please see info on our new webinar offer for Early Years practitioners below.

We are pleased to share our newest Basis webinar offer :)

Alongside Normal Infant Sleep, SIDS & Sleep Safety, and Sleep Baby & You online short courses for health professionals and other practitioners, we are now pleased to offer webinar training on Sleep in Early Years settings with tailored options for Nursery staff and for Childminders.

We offer packages for individuals and groups. Email us at [email protected] for information on costs and content, or see link in comments below. As always, please share😁

01/09/2026

Registration is now open for LactaLearning's new book group on How Babies Sleep. 4 meetings beginning in October, recorded in case you miss a session. Link in comments for more details.

08/06/2026

It's turning out to be a busy month around here. Another new paper is published :) This one has been in the queue for almost a year, so good to finally have it out there: the evaluation of our multiagency SUDI prevention programme in Northumberland call Eyes on the Baby.

This programme helps organisations such as local authorities to train staff to understand SUDI prevention needs of priority families and offer support to any families they encounter. Targeted SUDI prevention by non-health practitioners delivered to those who need it most by people who are able to keep their Eyes on the Baby.

Open access - free download. Link in comments
Please share!

04/06/2026

Two new research papers from the DISC team are published today from our project on slings and baby carriers.

The first is a systematic review of the existing evidence around benefits and risks of using slings and baby carriers. Benefits of keeping baby close and responsive care far outweigh the risks, but the rare risks are serious and awareness is needed. https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e004693

The second is a survey of 1470 UK parents that find most purchase and start using slings and carriers in early infancy, but do not receive any safety guidance at point of purchase. 25% were not aware safety guidance existed, awareness was poor about where to get help with choosing or using slings/carriers.
https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e004696

Findings suggest a need for a national guidance to raise awareness of safe use, particularly with babies in first few months. Both papers are open access and we are grateful to Lullaby Trust and Teddy's Wish for funding this research.

18/04/2026

If you are eligible for our study on whether and how parents use AI to obtain information about infant sleep, please consider taking part. Please share if you know eligible parents who may be interested. Link in 1st comment.

27/03/2026

Do you have a few minutes to help us check our new research survey makes sense? We want to make sure it works for all parents with babies, whether they use AI for infant sleep info or not!

26/03/2026

We are excited to share the news that Dr Amanda Tan is now Associate Director of DISC, See Amanda's journey to infant sleep research below!

16/03/2026

I am pleased to be speaking at the following virtual conference which commences in May (following an in person conference tour in Australia!). For more details and full programme of exciting speakers see link in comments.

04/03/2026

As smart baby devices expand rapidly, researchers highlight the benefits of AI monitoring while noting the limits of current systems.

21/02/2026

Check out this week's episode of Sliced Bread on Baby Sleep Products, featuring DISC Director Professor Helen Ball

Can any nests or docks, gadgets or blinds, really help babies sleep better?