May 24, 2006

University of Michigan Health System to offer monthly 'Happiest Baby' classes

Popular classes teach new parents to soothe their crying babies

ANN ARBOR, MI – The sound of a crying baby can torment new parents and erode their confidence in their abilities to care for the infant. A popular program, Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Baby course, offers help and guidance to parents.

The University of Michigan Health System is offering a new series of Happiest Baby courses, which provide new parents a step-by-step approach to help infants sleep longer and soothe even the fussiest baby in just minutes. The classes will be offered on the third Monday of the month, beginning June 19.

Happiest Baby educators provide hands-on training on topics such as:

• The Missing Fourth Trimester: It may sound odd, but many babies cry because, in an important way, they’re born three months too soon, according to the Happiest Baby program, founded by Harvey Karp, M.D., a pediatrician and child development specialist who wrote “The Happiest Baby on the Block.”
• The Calming Reflex: The virtual off-switch to crying that all babies are born with.
• The Five S’s: The five simple techniques that activate the calming reflex: swaddling, side/stomach positioning, shushing, swinging and sucking.

Certified class instructors include: nurses from the U-M Birth Center, Briarwood Family Practice, Canton Health Center, Brighton Health Center and Michigan Visiting Nurses, as well as instructors from Social Work and the Child Protection Team.

Registration is required. Call the Women’s Health Resource Center at 734-936-8886 to register or for more information.

Classes will be held from 6-8 p.m. on the third Monday of every month, beginning with June 19, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18. They will be held at the Women's Health Resource Center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive in Ann Arbor, on the first floor of the Taubman Center (which is connected to the University Hospital and the Taubman parking structure).

The classes cost $20. Participants will receive a Happiest Baby DVD or VHS and a CD of "Super-Soothing Calming Sounds," a $40 value. Parking will be validated.

Written by Katie Gazella

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