How Babies Work: Sleep, Eat, Thrive

We will discover how the evolutionary history of humans affects the current feeding and sleeping needs of babies, and explore the biological explanations for typical baby sleep behaviours. Why do newborns prefer to sleep on their parents’ bodies? Why do they feed so much at night? Do we need to teach babies to sleep? Why do they seem to wake so easily, and why do they need so much sleep? In this talk you will learn about newborn babies’ instinctive behaviours, the biology of milk production, the homeostatic sleep regulators, and infant sleep architecture, allowing you to understand the ‘hows and whys’ of infant sleep behaviour.

Infant sleep is often framed through behavioural expectations of independence, yet research shows limited effects of behavioural sleep interventions on infant sleep outcomes (Douglas and Hill, 2013; Liu et al., 2023). Lyons-Ruth et al. (2024) highlight that infants vary widely in their stress thresholds and depend on caregiver co-regulation to downshift from arousal. These insights help explain why some infants, including those with more sensitive neurobiological profiles, rely on close contact or feeding for settling and sleep. Neurodiversity-affirming frameworks further emphasise co-regulation, sensory needs, and goodness-of-fit rather than normalisation (Leadbitter et al., 2021). This presentation integrates these perspectives to outline more responsive, ethical, and developmentally aligned approaches to infant sleep.

Sharing a sleep surface remains common despite dominance of risk elimination approaches directing parents to not co-sleep under any circumstances. Many families struggle to follow rigid risk elimination guidelines and want and/or need to keep their baby close; risk minimisation has been posed as an alternative. Carly shares the results of an integrative review addressing the research question: ‘What information do parents need to minimise risk if they have an infant under 12 months of age who shares the same sleep surface, intentionally or not?’

Bed-sharing and co-sleeping were my major research obsessions for the first 20 years of my career. This talk will give an overview of the key research findings around co-sleeping and bed-sharing, and how understanding and guidance has progressed. Then we will consider some of the intractable questions that parents often want answers to: can you safely co-sleep with your baby on your chest? When is my premature baby old enough to bed-share? If my husband smokes but showers before bed, can he bed-share with us? What about vaping and bed-sharing? How can I co-sleep with my newborn twins? After this presentation you will have all the answers about co-sleeping and bed-sharing at your fingertips!

Breastfeeding problems are intimately connected with infant cry-fuss problems. Both breastfeeding problems and unsettled infant behaviour are linked with increased risk of maternal postnatal depression and also suboptimal developmental outcomes. And breastfeeding or feeds are intimately related to how a family approaches infant sleep. For these reasons, a mother and baby are best thought of as a complex adaptive system or CAS, which is nevertheless remarkably resilience. The mother-baby CAS is nested inside multiple other CASs (like the parenting team, the family, or social networks) and made up of multiple other CASs (like the maternal entero-mammary immune system or the infant gut microbiome). Breastfeeding and infant care problems emerge from multiple factors which interact and co-evolve in the mother-baby CAS, and require evidence-based clinical approaches integrated across multiple domains. However, parents report that when they present with problems of breastfeeding, sleep, or crying they receive large amounts of conflicting and unhelpful advice. Parents are frequently offered a range of ‘quick-fix’ solutions. It’s not surprising that rates of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of breastfeeding mothers and babies have increased dramatically in recent years - without improved breastfeeding rates, or decreased reports of sleep or cry-fuss problems. What are the paths forward for health professionals who care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies?

The first year after birth can be a period of profound transition, where mothers may experience complex mental health and psychosocial challenges. Factors such as postpartum depression, anxiety, trauma related to pregnancy or birth, social isolation, financial stress, and lack of accessible support can all contribute to maternal distress, which in turn can affect infant development and early attachment. Early intervention and consistent support for mothers during this critical period are essential to promote both maternal recovery and positive infant outcomes. Peer support, delivered by individuals with lived experience of perinatal mental health challenges, provides an accessible and trusting pathway for mothers to seek help. “Peer support in the perinatal period is described as an effective, positive, dependable support for women, helping them to overcome health care system barriers that contribute to mental health problems and improve ability to access mental health support” (Rice et al., 2022). By fostering connection, understanding, and a sense of safety, peer support enables mothers to engage with services, build confidence, and strengthen early parent-infant relationships. This presentation will explore practical strategies for supporting mothers with infants who face complex mental health and psychosocial needs, including early identification, wrap-around care, and approaches that promote infant wellbeing alongside maternal recovery. Case examples from Peach Tree will illustrate how structured support, relationship-building, and co-designed programs can improve outcomes for both mothers and their infants during the critical first year.

This talk introduces you to Eyes on the Baby -- a training and implementation programme to engage the multiagency workforce in supporting vulnerable families to reduce sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUDI). We designed and implemented Eyes on the Baby with Durham County Council in 2022, and subsequently it has been adopted by local authorities across northeast England, plus Durham Constabulary and North East Ambulance service. Providing targeted information and support Eyes on the Baby trains staff who have existing relationships or opportunistic contact with priority families to be aware of circumstances where babies have died unexpectedly, when families are out of routine, when parents are facing multiple challenges, and when babies’ needs may be overlooked in a crisis. From this talk you will gain a sound grasp of how multiagency SUDI prevention works and how to engage non-health professionals in this challenging work.

This presentation explores current approaches to infant safe sleep education and examines how these approaches are experienced by culturally diverse families who choose to, or unintentionally, bed-share with their infants. It will consider how cultural beliefs and traditions shape sleep expectations and practices, and how these intersect with mainstream recommendations. The presentation will conclude with key insights and practical recommendations for collaboratively engaging bed-sharing parents from diverse cultural backgrounds in discussions around infant safe sleep.

Learn how intergenerational trauma and protective experiences shape sleep and the parent-child relationship, plus what we can do to “break cycles” and support secure, connected bonds. This presentation is designed for professionals working with families who are ready to harness evidence‑based insights and real-life experiences to foster healthier sleep practices, attachment, and infant mental health.

The perinatal period is one of the most common windows in which adults first recognise their own neurodivergence. As identity shifts, sensory demands intensify, and support needs become more visible, many parents begin to connect the dots between lifelong patterns and their current experiences. This presentation explores what neurodivergence can look like in the perinatal context. Drawing on neurodiversity-affirming practice, Rebecca will outline how neurodivergence can present in the perinatal period in mothers, non-birthing partners, and babies. The presentation will also examine common challenges uniquely experienced by neurodivergent parents and their babies, including feeding and sleep overwhelm, sensory overload, co-regulation mismatches, burnout, and difficulty navigating competing advice. Participants will leave with a strengths-based framework for identifying neurodivergent needs, adapting support, and fostering affirming, accessible perinatal care that helps neurodivergent parents and babies thrive.

While there is a plethora of safer sleep guidance available when babies sleep on a firm flat surface, there is much less information about how to ensure sleep safety when babies sleep in carrying devices such as slings, wraps and structured carriers. Following a couple of accidental infant deaths in carriers in recent years my team conducted a project on sling use in the UK. In this presentation Helen will share the results of a systematic review on evidence about sling safety, a large parent survey about their use of different wearable baby carriers, and their knowledge around safe carrying practices, and a review of safety guidance available to the public via babywearing organisations, sling and carrier manufacturers, and retailers. By attending this presentation, you will learn about how the new UK guidance on safe sling use for babies was agreed, and the evidence that underpins it.