A new scheme aimed at helping parents in Islington cope with crying babies is being launched by the Whittington Hospital and children’s charity, the NSPCC.

As part of the Coping with Crying programme health visitors and staff from the hospital’s family nurse partnership service will work with parents by showing them a new film which shares tips on and advice about soothing babies and managing stress.

The NSPCC estimate that around 200 babies a year in the UK suffer from serious head injuries as the result of being shaken, hit or thrown. Evidence shows that crying is often a trigger for this sort of harm.

The film was created in partnership with experts at Warwick Medical School and Great Ormond Street Hospital and is based on a similar programme in America which reduced the number of babies who suffered from non-accidental head injuries by nearly half.

Whittington Health locality manager for health visiting, Geraldine Butler, said: “Being part of this programme will help us to further support parents. We know that caring for a new born baby can be extremely stressful and it’s important that there is the right support in place for families.

“Our health visitors and family nurse partnership staff can work with parents to safeguard children in our local area. This additional resource will be used to provide expertise and raise awareness of how to cope with crying babies.”

According to the hospital, concerns about babies’ crying are one of the most common reasons that new parents seek help from professionals. When their baby cries, it is common for parents to feel frustrated, and in the worst cases they can lose their temper and harm their baby.