Thanks for your help
Your fundraising efforts will help us to deliver a range of enhanced
services and support in 2015. As well as helping us to deliver our current
services and activity, we’re looking to also better support families in the
next year by:
Purchasing chairs for parents to use in the units for Kangaroo cuddles
The touch, warmth and bonding of Kangaroo cuddles has a number of benefits for
both babies and for parents–this has been proved through multiple studies.
As with all things related to premature and sick babies, hygiene is critical.
It is important that the Units use specialist chairs that are easy to clean and
also made from material that can’t harbour bacteria and germs.
Refer over the page for more details on Kangaroo cuddling.
Supporting the families and babies in the regional cities
Our role is to support families through what can be a very stressful situation.
Currently our services are predominately based around the five main centres and
their Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).
Many babies are cared for in regional cities and we are developing a model
to support the Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs) and the families that are cared for
in them.
Enhancing the information available to parents
No one intends to become the parent of a premature or sick baby. When it happens,
most parents are unprepared and often feel helpless. It is a stressful situation where
providing information to guide families through their neonatal journey really does
make a difference.
We will enhance the information available and also reach more families
with key details such as a glossary of the terms they may hear, details
of the care being delivered and the role they can play.
The Neonatal Trust do not receive any Government funding and we are entirely reliant
on the generosity of individuals, companies and organisations. Our awareness campaign,
based around World Prematurity Day, is the only co-ordinated fundraising activity
we undertake.
Thanks for your support. Your efforts will help to make a difficult start to
life that little bit easier for the families of premature and sick full-term
babies in New Zealand.
www.neonataltrust.org.nz
Kangaroo
cuddles
History
Kangaroo cuddling (also known as Kangaroo care) was pioneered in
Columbia in the 1970s by a paediatrician who was looking for a way to
keep premature babies warm in an area too poor to have incubators.
Prior to this many doctors believed premature babies needed to be left
alone to conserve their strength. Inspiration was taken from kangaroos
and other marsupials that nurture their young in a pouch.
Once babies are well enough, they are taken out of their
incubators and placed on their parent’s chest, usually under
their clothes, so the baby gets skin-to-skin contact and can
hear the parent’s heartbeat.
It works
Kangaroo cuddling has now become much more than a way to keep babies warm. Babies
generally improve when they’re being held by their parents. They’ve been listening to their
voices in the womb and babies can recognise their families tone of voice and speech patterns.
Multiple studies have proved that it has a number of benefits for parents and for babies,
including:
›› Fewer breathing problems
›› Faster weight gain
›› Less energy-wasting fidgeting
›› A more constant body temperature
Talking or reading while kangaroo cuddling is especially good as the vibrations through the
chest assist with bonding and relaxation. Also, it helps parents to feel closer to their baby.
This bonding is important for both parent and child and helps babies improve – as babies
who are happier tend to do better.
As with all things in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), hygiene is important.
Units will use specialist chairs that are easy to clean and these specialist maternity chairs are
made from material that can’t harbour bacteria and germs.
www.neonataltrust.org.nz