Newborns, migrants and the idea of home explored at University of Leicester lectures

Home is the theme of the first in the new series of lectures by University of Leicester PhD graduates, as they explore how long it takes babies in neonatal care to be sent home and how home-making practices are used by migrants to become familiar with a new place.

The first of the University’s Doctoral Inaugural Lectures for 2018-19, organised by the Doctoral College, takes place on Wednesday 3 October, and features presentations from some of the University’s very best research degree graduates.
 
The lectures will take place in the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre in the Fielding Johnson Building from 5pm.
 
Dr Sarah Seaton from the Department of Health Sciences will present ‘When will my baby go home? Estimating length of stay in neonatal care’.
 
Babies born too early require specialist neonatal care. Whilst estimates of the probability of survival have been reported in the past, research into length of stay in neonatal care has been limited.
 
In her lecture, Dr Seaton will present estimates of length of stay for all babies born very preterm, and explain how this can be enhanced by considering the different types of care received.
 
Estimating length of stay is important to support the counselling of parents and the planning of healthcare services. Anecdotally, parents are often told that their baby will be discharged home ‘around their due date’ although there is no evidence to suggest whether this is true or not.
 
Dr Ruth Webber, now a Research Associate at the University of Manchester, will present ‘Picturing Home: Exploring the Everyday Home-Making Practices of Migrant, Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Women in Glasgow’.
 
Her lecture will ask how we make sense of home when we leave one place and move to another and what are the tools and resources that we draw on to make sense of self in a new place. It presents the key findings from her PhD research, through a discussion of the strategies of emplacement drawn upon in everyday migrant home-making practices.
 
The lecture will demonstrate that the tools drawn on in the everyday participation and home-making practices of migrants often transcend borders, as individuals seek to cultivate familiarity in and with place.
 
Professor Dave Lambert, Doctoral College Director, said: “’Two lectures, from two very different disciplines and perspectives, but both throwing light on some of the most significant aspects of our human lives, demonstrating once again the power of research, whatever the core discipline, to make sense of our lives; again, a great showcase of Leicester talent.”
 
Commencing at 5pm, the lectures will be held in the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre in the Fielding Johnson Building, with a reception following the event.
 
All University staff, students and members of the public are invited to attend the Doctoral Inaugural Lectures.
 
Entry is free, but seats must be booked in advance.