Norwich City players highlight role of dads in protecting babies, as part of a powerful Norfolk campaign

As part of this initiative, a promotional video has been created featuring Norwich City Football Club players Onel Hernández, Ben Gibson and George Long. In the video, the players have reached out to new parents and openly shared their personal experiences of becoming fathers, the challenges they faced while caring for their newborns and where they sought help when it all got too much.

The Protecting Babies is Everyone’s Business campaign aims to raise awareness about the important measures parents can take to keep their babies safe. The initiative helps parents to understand that crying is part of a baby’s language, crying is normal but can be hard to cope with.

The campaign offers clear guidance on how to handle a crying baby and outlines steps families and the wider community can take to ensure a baby’s safety. Additionally, it provides information on how to access the support services offered to keep babies safe at all times.

Sian Larrington, Operational Director for Norfolk and Waveney Children and Young People’s Health Services said: “We are thrilled to launch this crucial, system-wide campaign that empowers everyone of us to play a part in protecting babies from harm. Babies are fragile and it is essential to make their protection everyone’s responsibility."

“This collaboration is a shining example of how partnership efforts can create impactful content that conveys important messages. It emphasises that fathers are as crucial as mothers in caring for their babies. They can struggle too when their baby cries, so it’s important to seek help when needed, to protect their baby from harm and to be the best version of themselves while caring for their baby.”

Lucy Parsons, Head of Safeguarding and Steph Hambrook, Clinical Lead for Norfolk and Waveney Children and Young People’s Health Services added: “We are delighted and proud to have led on this amazing project to protect babies and keep them safe. It would have not been possible without the invaluable collaboration from partners across the Norfolk Safeguarding system to bring these important messages to life. Protecting babies is everybody's business.” 

Gary Dack, Head of Safeguarding for Norwich City Football Club, said: “Norwich City Football Club are pleased to support the work of the NHS and Norfolk Children Safeguarding Partnership in protecting babies. 

We hope that this initiative can use the power of football, to help educate parents, and families, of the risks present with new babies. It is great to see the business sector and statutory services working collaboratively on such an important topic.”

Watch the #ProtectingBabiesIsEveryonesBusiness video here.

For more information, useful advice and tips for new parents, please visit the Just One Norfolk website: https://www.justonenorfolk.nhs.uk/protectingbabies