Simple Infant Simulation Tool Helps Transform Newborn Care in Rural Uganda

A portable safe sleep model from Safe sleep Simulation is helping families and generations of caregivers. See how small changes can prevent life-threatening risks after birth. 

The room grew quiet. 

Just moments earlier, laughter filled the space as new mothers admired freshly painted toenails and bundled newborns. Now, all eyes were drawn to a 3D infant model in the hands of Parkview Health postpartum nurse Flora Parsley, its chest revealing tiny stomach and lungs, its realistic weight, and its design bringing safe sleep practices into sharp focus 

“This,” she said gently, “is why we keep babies on their backs.” 

The infant model, a portable tool designed to reduce preventable infant deaths, is now helping transform how families care for newborns in a rural region of Uganda, where survival rates at birth have improved dramatically, but risks after discharge remain a critical challenge. 

What may seem like a simple teaching device is part of a broader effort by Fort Wayne–

based Ray of Hope Medical Missions,  to address one of the most persistent gaps in maternal-child health: ensuring babies stay safe not just during delivery, but in the days and weeks that follow. 

In a community where deeply rooted beliefs about illness and protection shape caregiving practices, the ability to see what is happening inside a baby’s body is shifting understanding in ways words alone could not.  

The Ray of Hope birthing center sits in a region that once faced a staggering 64% maternal and newborn mortality rate. Today, with trained midwives, improved clinical care, and access to emergency transport, that number has dropped to less than 1%. 

But survival at birth is only the first step. 

“The next challenge is what happens when they go home,” Parsley said. 

A Belief Rooted in Love 

In this community, it is widely believed that exposure to air can cause pneumonia, even in warm temperatures. In response, families wrap newborns tightly in multiple layers of clothing and blankets, often covering their faces completely. 

The practice is rooted in care, not neglect. Grandmothers, known as Jjajja’s, are deeply committed to protecting their infants. 

But the result can be dangerous. 

Babies can quickly become overheated. Moisture builds beneath layers. Airflow is restricted. Breathing can become compromised, which ironically, increases the risks families are trying to prevent. 

“For years, we would gently remove layers,” Parsley said. “And when we left the room, they would lovingly put them all back.”

Parsley understood that changing behavior would require more than instruction. 

It would require trust. 

Discharge days at the birthing center are filled with celebrations. Mothers receive new clothing for their babies. Families gather. There is time to rest, to eat, and to prepare for the journey home.

Parsley leaned into those moments. 

Her daughter painted toenails for mothers and grandmothers, filling the room with laughter and connection. 

“It’s easier to hear something hard when you feel cared for,” Parsley said. 

Only after that trust was built would she begin teaching. 

“Your baby is so beautiful,” she would say. “Can I show you mine?” She would then bring out the infant model. 

With the help of Ugandan midwives translating, Parsley demonstrated how safe sleep works: 

• Why babies should be placed on their backs. 

• How excessive layers restrict airflow and can interfere with breathing. 

• What overheating does to a newborn’s body. 

• Why pneumonia is linked to poor ventilation, not exposure to air. 

Then she showed them the lung and stomach model.  

As Parsley held the model, she pointed to the lungs, showing how fluid can settle and restrict airflow when a baby is placed in an unsafe sleep position. What had once been an abstract warning became something real: fluid where air should be, pressure where there should be space to breathe. 

“They could finally see what we had been trying to explain,” Parsley said. “You could watch their faces change.” 

Seeing to Understand 

Michelle Moss, a nurse leader from Parkview Health’s Surgical Trauma ICU who joined the trip, saw the shift happen in real time. 

“I knew the phrase ‘back is best,’” Moss said. “But seeing the model, the lungs, that changes how you understand it. And you could see that same realization happening for the moms.” 

Women leaned forward. Eyes widened. A grandmother nodded slowly. 

Fear began to give way to understanding. 

A Legacy of Hope 

For Grace Folk, a registered nurse who has traveled to Uganda four times, those moments represent years of progress. 

She was present for the very first birth at the Ray of Hope center.  

“I was still a nursing student,” she said. “I didn’t know how to help in that kind of crisis.” 

When a newborn struggled to breathe, she was asked to set up an oxygen concentrator that had arrived just the day before. As the team worked to resuscitate the baby, founder Rebecca Ghent prayed aloud: 

“Please don’t let the first baby born here not survive.” 

After 32 minutes, the baby cried. 

“That sound was pure joy,” Folk said.  

They named her Hope. 

Read Hope’s story here: https://www.rohmm.org/people-0000-hope.  

Education That Stays 

Today, the center offers a level of support rarely available in surrounding areas. Mothers stay at least 24 hours after delivery, receiving care, nutrition, and education before returning home. 

Still, language barriers and cultural differences have made some teachings difficult to convey until now. 

“The model shows what words cannot,” Folk said. “It helps people understand why these changes matter.” 

She remembers removing layers from newborns (hats, socks, multiple blankets) even in 80-degree heat, only to return and find them replaced. 

“They truly believed we were putting the baby at risk,” she said. 

Then one day, something changed. 

A young first-time mother prepared to leave with her newborn wrapped in a single blanket, the baby’s face uncovered. 

A small shift. 

But one with life-saving implications. 

Changing Generations 

In just 10 days, Parsley witnessed eight births. But the reach of the education extends far beyond those families. 

Safe sleep instruction is now a standard part of discharge at the center. The simulation model remains on-site, continuing to teach long after visiting teams return home. 

“This tool made the unseen seen,” Parsley said. “It bridged a gap we couldn’t cross with words alone.” 

For those who return year after year, the reason is simple. 

“As long as we keep showing up,” Folk said, “educating and loving this community, it will continue to thrive.” 

The Work Continues 

The work continues to be carried forward by nurses whose experiences span trauma care, newborn resuscitation, and global health outreach, and grounded in a partnership focused not just on saving lives at birth, but sustaining them long after. 

“I love talking about it,” Parsley said. “It’s one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done.” 

Why Safe Sleep Simulation Chose to Support This Work 

Safe Sleep Simulation chose to support Flora Parsley and the Ray of Hope Center because their work reflects exactly where education can have the greatest impact. “Choosing to support this work was both easy and an honor, especially knowing it can be shared globally in communities where education is needed most. It represents the heart of what safe sleep education should be: compassionate, culturally aware, and hands-on. When caregivers can see and experience safe sleep in a real-world context, it moves from understanding to something they can truly act on. That’s when lives are changed.” — Ethel Massing, CEO, Safe Sleep Simulation 

At Ray of Hope, mothers and caregivers are not only receiving information, but they are also building confidence in how to care for their infants in environments that often come with unique challenges. Flora’s approach brings empathy, cultural awareness, and hands-on teaching together in a way that makes safe sleep guidance both understandable and actionable. 

By introducing the Safe Sleep Simulation toolkit in this real-life setting, hands-on education

moves beyond words. Caregivers can see, touch, and experience what safe and unsafe sleep conditions look like, turning abstract recommendations into something real and memorable, and that when delivered in the right way, it can truly change outcomes. 

What began as a simple teaching tool is now helping families turn understanding into life-saving action for their newborns worldwide. 

To learn more about the Safe Sleep SImaultion education toolkit, visit www.safesleepsimulation.com.