After the death of their 14-day-old son, a Derby couple is advocating for the teaching of lifesaving skills to new parents. In October, Rowan Pepper, the son of Rachel and Christian Pepper, stopped breathing in their home, and they did not know what to do. The couple has launched the “Rowan’s Rule” campaign, which aims for all hospitals in the United Kingdom to provide CPR training or vital information prior to the discharge of new parents.
Rachel said: “When I went into the hospital to deliver Rowan, we were shown a video on how to avoid shaking our newborn. But nothing about how to potentially save the life of our infant.” The traumatic experience of watching her son struggle without knowing what to do was described by her as “awful.” Rowan’s cause of death was listed as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Christian declared: “The terrifying aspect is that there were no indications of what would occur beforehand. It is instantaneous, with no warning. Rowan flourished.” The couple is determined that Rowan’s death will not be in vain and hopes that basic CPR training will save lives.
As a response to the campaign, Garry Marsh, executive chief nurse of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, stated: “In accordance with national guidelines, we educate families during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, as do all NHS maternity services. In support of Rowan’s Rule, we are working with our maternity voices partnership groups, which represent people who access our maternity services, to determine the most effective way to assist families in gaining access to baby first aid and CPR information.”
After the death of their 14-day-old son, Rachel and Christian Pepper of Derby are campaigning for lifesaving skills to be taught to new parents. The couple is determined that their son Rowan’s death will not be in vain and has launched ‘Rowan’s Rule,’ a campaign that aims for all UK hospitals to provide CPR training or vital information about what to do in emergency situations before discharging new parents.
When Rachel went to the hospital to give birth to her son, she was shown a video on how not to shake a baby, but she was not shown any information on how to potentially save a baby’s life. The traumatic experience of watching her son struggle without knowing what to do was described by her as “awful.” Rowan was thriving, according to Christian, who also stated that there were no omens of impending disaster.
In response to the campaign, Garry Marsh, executive chief nurse at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, stated that the organisation educates families in accordance with national recommendations and is currently exploring ways to assist families in gaining access to first aid and CPR information.
The Peppers’ campaign for lifesaving skills has been well-received, and it is hoped that their initiative will one day save the lives of infants.
