The birth of a lullaby and these COVID years

Abstract

This article describes the birth of a lullaby. It follows a long history of songs used to lull babies into a quiet or sleepy state. This particular lullaby grew from a community-based maternity care intervention on the south coast of England. The project, funded by the Burdett Fund for Nurses and supported by the Foundation of Nursing Studies was co-created by local women and care providers from maternity; health visiting and the Children’s Centre. The format was a weekly information and support meeting called ‘Bump, baby and beyond’ held in a local Children’s Centre. Each week women shared their questions, worries and dreams with the group over lunch and during the activities that followed. The aims – agreed at an early stakeholder planning event – were to help build confidence for labour and parenthood and to make connections with a supportive local network. An initial list of activities was drawn up via focus groups and refined after piloting a ‘rolling programme’. The author, a community midwife, facilitated the majority of group sessions and wrote a poem as a reflection after the eighteen-month project had come to an end. This eventually became the lullaby which can be viewed on YouTube. The article describes what grew from an alliance between women, health and social care workers and the active support of the funding body project facilitator. References are made to maternity services; academic literature about singing and neuroscience and the therapeutic effects of singing. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, singing for relaxation and soothing has an even stronger resonance.