Profile

Prof Helen L. Ball, BSc, MA, PhD

Personal web pages

Professor in the Department of Anthropology

Director of Postgraduate Studies, Department of Anthropology

Professor in the Health and Human Sciences

Member of the Sleep Lab

Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute

Contact (email at h.l.ball@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

Helen Ball obtained her PhD in Biological Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1991, where she was supervised by Laurie Godfrey and Alan Swedlund (Anthropology) and Melinda Novak (Psychology). Her undergraduate degree was in Human Biology, and her interests span both biology and anthropology. Helen spent several years in the Caribbean where she conducted her PhD research on the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago, and later ran a Marine Biology Field School with her husband in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Following her appointment as a Lecturer in Anthropology at Durham in 1993 Helen established the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab. Her current research involves behavioural and physiological investigations of infant and child sleep - particularly of co-sleeping parents and infants from an evolutionary perspective, and the effect of sleep on child obesity. She conducts research in various local hospitals and the community, and contributes to national and international policy and practice guidelines in infant care.

Indicators of Esteem

2010: Appointed to ESRC Peer Review College:
2009: Appointed to Advisory Board of Attachment Parenting EU:
2009: Appointed to La Leche League Panel of Professional Advisers:
2009: Appointed to NCT Research Advisory Board:
2007: Invited Keynote Speaker: Australian National Breastfeeding Conference:
2007: Invited keynote speaker: French Academy of Paediatrics: St Malo, June, 2007
2006: Healthy Children Award (US) for Research: Award for contribution to breastfeeding research from Healthy Children (US), presented Jan 15th 2006, Orlando, Florida
2006: Invited speaker, Primary Care Conference 2006: Invited speaker: Mother & Baby Programme of Primary Care 2006 Conference for GPs and Health Professionals at NEC, Birmingham, 5th May 2006.
2006: Invited speaker: UNICEF UK Baby-friendly Conference 2006: Invited speaker at UNICEF UK BFI Annual Conference, Cardiff, November 29th & 29th 2006
2005: Invited Keynote Speaker: La Leche League Italia National Conference:

Research Groups

Medical Anthropology Research Group

Research Projects

Research Interests

Behaviour and physiology of infant sleep
Child sleep and obesity
Evolutionary medicine
Human behaviour: parenting, infant care, infant mortality, SIDS, infanticide
Human reproduction
Midwifery and postnatal care

Selected Publications

1: Ball, Helen L. 2008. Evolutionary Paediatrics: a case study in applying Darwinian Medicine. In Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications, Future Prospects. Elton, Sarah & O'Higgins, Paul New York: Taylor & Francis. 127-152. (Additional information) (View publication online)
2: Ball, Helen L. 2006. Parent-Infant Bed-sharing Behavior: effects of feeding type, and presence of father. Human Nature: an interdisciplinary biosocial perspective 17(3): 301-318. (Additional information)
3: Blair, Peter S. & Ball, Helen L. 2004. The prevalence and characteristics associated with parent–infant bed-sharing in England. Archives of Disease in Childhood 89: 1106-1110. (Additional information)
4: Ball, Helen L. 2002. Reasons to bed-share: why parents sleep with their infants. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology 20(4): 207-222. (Additional information)
5: Ball, Helen L., Ward-Platt, Martin P., Heslop, Emma, Leech, Stephen J. & Brown, Kathleen A. 2006. Randomised trial of infant sleep location on the postnatal ward. Archives of Disease in Childhood 91(12): 1005-1010. (Additional information)
6: Ball, Helen L. & Klingaman, Kristin, P. 2007. Breastfeeding and mother-infant sleep proximity: implications for infant care. In Evolutionary Medicine and Health: New Perspectives. Trevathan, Wenda, Smith, E.O. & McKenna, James J. New York: Oxford University Press. 226-241. (Additional information)
7: Ball, Helen L. 2007. Together or apart? A behavioural and physiological investigation of sleeping arrangements for twin babies. Midwifery 23(4): 404-412. (Additional information)
8: Ball, Helen L. 2006. Bed-sharing on the post-natal ward: breastfeeding and infant sleep safety. Paediatrics and Child Health 11(Suppl A): 43A-46A.
9: Ball, Helen L. 2007. Bed-sharing practices of initially breastfed infants in the first 6 months of life. Infant and Child Development 16(4): 387-401. (Additional information)
10: Ball, Helen L. 2006. Caring for twin infants: sleeping arrangements and their implications. Evidence Based Midwifery 4(1): 10-16.
12: Ball, Helen L. 2006. Night-time infant care: cultural practice, evolution, and infant development. In Childrearing and infant care issues: a cross-cultural perspective. Pranee Liamputtong Melbourne, Australia: Nova. 47-61.
13: Heslop, Emma, Ball, Helen L. & Leech, Stepehn J. (2005). Bedding-in and Rooming-in on the post-natal ward: breastfeeding initiation. Measuring Behavior 2005, Wageningen, NL, Noldus Information Technology.
14: Ball, Helen L., Volpe, Lane E., Heslop, Emma & Leech, Stephen, J. (2005). Observing mother-infant sleep behaviour. Measuring Behavior 2005, Wageningen, NL, Noldus.
15: Ball, Helen L, Blair, Peter S. & Ward-Platt, Martin P. 2004. 'New' practice of bedsharing and risk of SIDS (letter). Lancet 363: 1558.
16: Wailoo, Mike, Ball, Helen L., Fleming, Peter J. & Ward-Platt, Martin P. 2004. Infants bed-sharing with mothers: helpful, harmful or don't we know?. Archives of Disease in Childhood 89(12): 1082-1083.
17: Ball, Helen L. 2003. Breastfeeding, bed-sharing and infant sleep. Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care 30(3): 181-188.
18: Ball, Helen L. 2002. Bed-sharing Research in Britain. Mothering Magazine (US) Sept.
19: Ball, Helen L. (2002). Risks to infants of sharing the parental bed: a physiological & behavioural study. Final report to Scottish Cot Death Trust. Glasgow, University of Durham.
20: Ward-Platt, Martin P & Ball, Helen L. 2002. Rooming-in at the Hospital: Assessing the Practical Considerations. Mothering Magazine (US) Sept(114).
21: Ball, Helen L. & Panter-Brick, Catherine 2001. Child survival and the modulation of parental investment. In Reproductive Ecology and Human Evolution. P. Ellison New York: Aldine de Gruyter. 249-266.
22: Blair, Peter, Fleming, Peter J., Ball, Helen L. & Ward-Platt, Martin P. 2001. Surprised by publication (letter). Pediatrics 108(5).
23: Ball, Helen L. 2001. Triadic bed-sharing and infant temperature. Ambulatory Child Health 28(1): 55-58.
24: Ball, Helen L. 2000. Babies and Infants Bed-Sharing. In Midwifery Practice in the Post-natal Period. Royal College of Midwives Royal College of Midwifes. 24-26.
25: Ball, Helen L., Hooker, Elaine & Heslop, Emma (2000). Night-time caregiving and parent-infant sleep strategies in the North East of England. Final Report to Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. London, University of Durham.
26: Ball, Helen, Hooker, Elaine & Kelly, Peter J. 2000. Parent-Infant Cosleeping: fathers' roles and perspectives. Infant and Child Development 9(2): 67-74.
27: Hooker, Elaine, Ball, Helen L. & Kelly, Peter J. 2000. Sleeping like a baby: parent-infant cosleeping in North Tees, England. Medical Anthropology 19: 203-222.
28: Ball, Helen L., Hooker, Elaine & Kelly, Peter J. 2000. Where will the baby sleep? Attitudes and practices of new and experienced parents regarding cosleeping with their newborn infants. In Annual Editions: Child Growth and Development. Junn E.N. & Boyatzis, C. Dushkin/McGraw Hill. 00/01.
29: Ball, Helen L., Hooker Elaine & Kelly Peter J. 1999. Where will the baby sleep? Attitudes and practices of new and experienced parents regarding cosleeping with their new-born infants. American Anthropologist 101(1): 143-151.
30: Ball HL & Hill CM 1998. Insurance ovulation, embryo mortality and twinning. Journal of Biosocial Science 31(2): 245-255.
31: Swedlund, Alan C. & Ball, Helen L. 1998. Nature, Nurture, and the determinates of Childhood Mortality: A case study from Massachusetts, 1830-1920. In Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political-Economic and Critical Perspectives on Human Biology. Goodman, A. & Leatherman, T. Michigan, USA: University of Michigan Press. 191-228.
32: Ball, Helen L. & Hill, Catherine M. 1998. Parental manipulation of post-natal survival and well-being -- are parental sex preferences adaptive? In Sex, Gender and Health. Pollard, T.M. & Hyatt, S.B. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 143-151.
33: Ball, Helen L. & Hooker, Elaine (1998). What happens to infants who sleep with their parents?. American Association of Physical Anthropology Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah,
34: Ball, Helen L. & Hooker, Elaine (1998). You wanna put a camera in our bedroom? Video observations of parent-infant cosleeping in the home environment. Measuring Behaviour 98, Groningen, NL, (View publication online)
35: Ball, Helen L. 1997. Daddy’s girl? Anomalous social rank of a female rhesus macaque. Folia Primatologica 68(44-49).
36: Hill, Catherine M. & Ball, Helen L. 1996. Abnormal Births & Other Ill-Omens: The adaptive case for Infanticide. Human Nature 7(4): 381-402.
37: Ball HL & Swedlund AC 1996. Poor Women and Bad Mothers: placing the blame for turn-of-the-century infant mortality. Northeast Anthropology 52: 31-52.
38: Ball, Helen L. & Hill, Catherine M. 1996. Twin Infanticide Revisited. Current Anthropology 37(5): 856-863.
Ball, Helen L. 2009. Airway covering during bed-sharing. Child: Care, Health and Development 35(5): 728-737. (Additional information) (View publication online)
van den Berg, Martina & Ball, Helen L. 2008. Practices, advice and support regarding prolonged breastfeeding: a descriptive study from Sri Lanka. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology 26(3): 229-243. (Additional information)
McKenna, James J., Ball, Helen L. & Gettler, Lee T. 2007. Mother–Infant Cosleeping, Breastfeeding and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: What Biological Anthropology Has Discovered About Normal Infant Sleep and Pediatric Sleep Medicine. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 50: 133-161. (Additional information)
Ball, Helen L. 2009. Bed-sharing and co-sleeping: Research overview. NCT New Digest 48: 22-27. (Additional information) (View publication online)

Show all publications

Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

Subject specialists: Evolutionary paediatrics
Medical and health research topics: Breastfeeding
Human biology and development: Infant care practices
Infant and child health: Sleep and obesity
Medical and health research topics: Health consequences of sleep loss