Current Participants to the BaBi Network: 

36,286 (as of 23.04.2024)

We are delighted to share that our BaBi Network Research Fellow, Hollie Henderson, has been awarded her PHD. Using BaBi Network and BiB4All data, Hollie’s PHD looked at ‘How can practitioners, service providers and commissioners be best supported to make use of research cohort data as a local health intelligence tool for child and early life health?’.

Increasingly, data that is routinely collected by health and other public services is being linked together for research, particularly around children and families. However, there is limited evidence of research using this data being used to inform policymaking around child and early life health. Hollie’s PHD explored how local early-years decision-makers could be engaged and supported to make use of linked routinely collected data in their decision-making. 

The BaBi Network is delighted to announce that three additional NHS Trusts across Yorkshire & Humber and the East Midlands have become the newest research sites in our initiative to understand and improve family health and wellbeing.

We extend a warm welcome to Hull, Nottingham, and Harrogate, which have joined our existing BaBi sites, taking our total to 12 sites across England. 

"Connecting this type of data is hugely valuable for helping us understand what influences keep families healthy and happy," said Sally Bridges, BaBi Network Director. "We're thrilled to have Hull, Nottingham, and Harrogate onboard so more communities can enjoy the benefits this research brings."

This recognition applauds Kerry's outstanding contributions and unwavering commitment to the field of midwifery, with a particular emphasis on improving the care of women and their families through research.

Speaking about her nomination, Kerry said: “It was a tremendous honour to be nominated for this award and to be shortlisted in this category. 

"I think it’s so important to have specialty nurses and midwives who raise the profile of research and increase research activity and engagement and I hope I can help to inspire others to do so. I want to thank the Trust for its continued support and encouragement.”

Dr Sam Debbage, Director of Education and Research at DBTH, said: "Kerry's tireless efforts and dedicated approach have significantly contributed to our Research department's success. Through her exceptional work, we have gained invaluable insights into the unique needs of expectant mothers and families in Doncaster, all of which will ultimately drive positive changes in maternity care."

Kerry's commendation highlights the critical role played by research midwives in advancing knowledge and improving healthcare outcomes for local communities and we are incredibly proud to have her representing the Trust in the work she has achieved.

The ‘Born and Bred In’ study, known as BaBi, has reached 20,000 participants across its five recruiting sites in England.

BiB4All, the original name for the study in Bradford, is part of the world-leading Born in Bradford research programme, started recruiting in 2019 and was joined by Leeds, Wakefield, Doncaster and East London in 2022, to create the BaBi Network.

The BaBi Network is an important research initiative which aims to find out what influences the health and wellbeing of families. It is a network of local birth cohort studies that work together to link existing data across health, education, and social care to create a picture of families’ lives over time. Over time, this will help to shape local services, creating a healthier environment for families to enjoy.

This means that with consent from pregnant women, routine data recorded by the services they access themselves or for their babies such as healthcare and education are joined together anonymously.  This helps to create a bigger picture of local people’s health, for research purposes. By looking for patterns in the data, the research can give valuable insights into what works well and what can be made better, helping us to improve our services for the future.

Whilst each BaBi site focuses primarily on local outcomes for local people, establishing a wider BaBi network provides opportunities for important national research and learning. The BaBi Network has five recruiting sites at present, with more sites in set up, and is welcoming expressions of interest from across England.

Listening to parents, families and practitioners to drive the way in which local services are improved is really important, and BaBi provides the opportunity to do just that. This starts with setting the local priorities for each research site, and continues as the research progresses.

Parents, families and practitioners in each area are invited to join with researchers and medical staff in a workshop to discuss local health priorities and understand what matters most in their area. This then informs the local research priorities the study is used for.

Sally Bridges, BaBi Network Director, at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation NHS Trust said: 

‘We are delighted to have hit this major milestone in recruitment within just 11 months of the creation of the BaBi Network. We would firstly like to thank all the women who have agreed to be part of our study. The BaBi Network is only possible thanks to the generosity of women and babies who joined the BaBi family and the enthusiasm and dedication of the midwives who invited them.  We are grateful to all the women, babies, health professionals and researchers who make BaBi happen.

We are looking forward to welcoming thousands more families to the network this year. The more women who join, the better our understanding will be of what influences the health of families in their own local area. This can then drive the way in which local services are improved and make a big difference to people’s lives for the better’.

This year's theme for International Day of the Midwife is 'Together again: from evidence to reality'. To mark this day we would like to introduce you to some of our BaBi Research Midwives, who are the driving force behind BaBi, running the study day to day, and gathering the evidence to make real changes in their local areas. 

Thank you for all your hard work! We couldn't do it without you!   

In Wakefield, the Principal Investigator of BaBi Wakefield  Judith Holliday wished all the BaBi Wakefield mums and mums to be a 'Happy Mother's Day' 

Thank you to everyone who is contributing to Born and Bred in Wakefield. This work will help us to build a picture of families and services and to understand how we can make things better for people. Mother's Day gives us the opportunity to thank those mothers who have signed up and those who work to deliver this important study. Happy Mother's Day! (Judith Holliday, Head of Research, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and BaBi Wakefield PI)

We are delighted to announce that East London has joined the BaBi Network. We are looking forward to working with our first site outside of Yorkshire! 

On the 6th July 2022 new siblings joined the world leading research programme in Yorkshire and created the 'BaBi Network'

Doncaster, Leeds and Wakefield came together with Bradford to begin the BaBi (Born and Bred In) research initiative which aims to find out what influences the health and wellbeing of families. Over time, this will help to shape local services, creating a healthier environment for families to enjoy.

BaBi is network of local birth cohort studies that work together to link existing data across health, education, and social care to create a picture of families’ lives over time.

This means that, with consent from pregnant women, routine data recorded by the services they access themselves or for their babies is joined together anonymously.  This helps to create a bigger picture of local people’s health, for research purposes. By looking for patterns in the data, the research can give valuable insights into what works well and what can be made better, helping us to improve our services for the future.

Routine recorded data includes lots of different things, such as, blood pressure measurements from when a woman sees her midwife, or the details of baby’s height and weight recorded by health visitors.

The concept began in Bradford, where it is part of the world-leading Born in Bradford research programme. Now, in an exciting venture to help more local people in different locations, three new areas in Yorkshire have joined the study as local research sites. Doncaster, Leeds and Wakefield are all now part of the BaBi family.  

Whilst each BaBi site focuses primarily on local outcomes for local people, establishing a wider BaBi network provides opportunities for important national research and learning.

Listening to parents, families and practitioners to drive the way in which local services are improved is really important, and BaBi provides the opportunity to do just that. This starts with setting the local priorities for each research site, and continues as the research progresses.

Parents, families and practitioners in each area are invited to join with researchers and medical staff in a workshop to discuss local health priorities and understand what matters most in their area. This then informs the local research priorities the study is used for.