4 days ago
Lurie Children's encouraging skin-to-skin contact for ICU babies
The Brief
Lurie Children's is promoting skin-to-skin contact for babies with heart defects.
New research shows it's safe and beneficial, even in intensive care.
A new initiative, "Camp Cuddles," aims to increase parent-baby bonding in the ICU.
CHICAGO - Bringing a baby into this world is a beautiful experience for new parents, but that feeling can quickly turn terrifying when the baby has a congenital heart defect.
What we know
One percent of babies born in the U.S. end up in the Cardiac Care Unit, and it's long been thought that holding those babies isn't safe.
However, a new campaign by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is encouraging more cuddles.
"That's one thing I was worried about."
Tori and Jarett Austin are the new parents of Elijah Austin, who was born on May 5 with a congenital heart defect.
"Not being able to do as much skin to skin with him, because I absolutely loved doing it with my first two," said Tori.
What she is referring to is an intervention where babies are held primarily just wearing a diaper to a parent's bare chest.
Dig deeper
Skin to skin hasn't always been standard practice for sick infants in the Cardiac Care Unit.
But now, Lurie Children's is spreading awareness about new research that not only says "kangaroo care" is safe for these babies, but it's encouraged.
"There's a lot's of benefits," said Tiffany DeVries, who is the Manager of Patient Care Operations in the Cardiac Care Unit at Lurie Children's. "It helps with immunity. It helps with bonding. It helps with lactation for our moms. It helps with temperature regulation and postpartum changes for mom and baby."
Lurie Children's is hosting the first multicenter Skin-to-Skin-A-Thon for infants in the Cardiac ICU. It's affectionately called Camp Cuddles.
"A lot of our families are new parents, so not only is it their first time being a parent… they're scared of their newborn baby like every parent is," said DeVries. "But they also have the additional layer of having a baby in the ICU. So encouraging them that this is safe and not only safe but encouraged. We want new parents to pick up their babies and spend time holding them. This creates some semblance of being at home and not so out of their element in the ICU."
Skin to skin isn't just for new moms either. The warmth of dad also helps temperature regulation for the baby.
What's next
Lurie Children's has set a goal for every baby in the Cardiac Care Unit to get 40-hours of skins to skin per week.
The Source
FOX 32's Brian Jackson reported on this story.
