Parents Launch Infant CPR Film Following Son’s Death

A Derby couple, Rachel and Christian Pepper, whose baby passed away at 14 days old, have created a film to instruct other parents on how to perform infant CPR. They recounted not knowing what to do when their son, Rowan, stopped breathing at their home in October 2022. The Peppers have been advocating for basic CPR instruction to be integrated into the UK’s post-birth discharge process. They have now collaborated with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) NHS Foundation Trust and Family Hub Derby to produce an instructional CPR video. Mrs Pepper expressed her hope to prevent other individuals from “having that feeling of panic and helplessness.” The three-minute video, filmed by lo&Behold Creative, serves as a tribute to their son, whose cause of death was identified as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). It provides a step-by-step guide on actions to take if a baby ceases breathing and features a midwife demonstrating each stage. Given that national guidance for post-natal care does not currently include offering basic infant CPR training, Mr and Mrs Pepper established ‘Rowan’s Rule’ to seek a change. Rachel stated, “It’s been 18 months since we launched the campaign and we have worked really hard with the director of midwifery at UHDB to get to this stage.” She added, “So the Derby Family Hub have funded and produced a film for us which shows the basic CPR training so hopefully its accessible to everyone.” UHDB plans to share the video with families utilizing its services. The Family Hub, managed by Derby City Council, offers provisions such as antenatal care, advice, training for families, and other support from pregnancy through to children starting school. Fiona Colton, head of service for early help at Derby City Council, commented, “We met with the director of midwifery and they asked if we were prepared to do something with Rachel and Christian and it was a no-brainer really, it’s really important.” She further explained, “When we were first setting up the family hubs we did a lot of co-production with families around what it is that they wanted to see from us and one of the things that came up quite early on was around paediatric first aid.” Since the launch of ‘Rowan’s Rule,’ Mrs Pepper has given birth to their second son, Caleb, who is now five months old. Mr Pepper remarked, “I’m really proud, she’s like Scrappy Doo, she’s sending emails, shes calling people, she’s hounding people, you’ve been pretty relentless but in a good way.” Mrs Pepper stated, “We just want to prevent other people having that feeling of panic and helplessness, that’s it.” Mr Pepper added, “If you can save one baby and stop one set of parents feeling like we did then it’s worked.” Mrs Pepper concluded, “We’ve very much come to a peace, that we couldn’t have saved Rowan that night, that maybe he was for better things and this is the better thing, this video will go on and and could save people.”