Newswise — LOS ANGELES (July 11, 2024) -- Every new parent looks forward to holding their newborn skin-to-skin, dreaming of those bonding moments when they can embrace their baby.
But parents of premature babies often wait weeks or even months before they can do so. This is especially true if infants need a ventilator to help them breathe, a common issue for preemies, because lifesaving ventilator tubes and cords make it difficult to safely move a baby.
Cedars-Sinai joined with other hospitals across the state to find a solution and facilitate earlier skin-to-skin bonding for the tiniest babies and their parents. The project involves neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) specialists, including respiratory therapists, nurses and doctors. They figured out how to carefully move premature babies and respiratory equipment safely out of incubators and into parents’ arms.
“It is a three- to four-person job, and because the baby is so fragile, once the infant is moved, they remain in their parent’s arms for about two hours,” said clinical nurse specialist Amanda Williams, MSN, who led the Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s effort.
Emma and Tyler Beckett’s son, Owen, was born the first week of June at Cedars-Sinai at 24 weeks’ gestation, weighing just 1.7 pounds, and he was started on a jet ventilator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s.
“It’s so special,” Emma Beckett said. “The day that they told us we could start doing skin-to-skin, it was a surprise for us, and I just started crying immediately because I thought we were going to have to wait a long time—and to be able to do this now, it’s just amazing. Like we feel so much more connected to him.”
Courtney and Steven Fine also are getting an unexpected opportunity to bond with their daughter, Alia, who was born at 26 weeks’ gestation in mid-May and weighed 1.11 pounds.
“It's just nice to have her close to me,” Courtney Fine said. “I just really feel like I'm getting to bond with her more. It really does change my entire day and week.”
The reaction from parents has been universally positive, Williams said.
“We know how important skin-to-skin is for the babies and the parents, both emotionally and physically,” Williams said. “It’s so good for the baby. When they are skin-to-skin, we see their vital signs improving, including their respiratory and heart rates. It also helps mom with producing breast milk, and for both moms and dads, the bonding opportunity is key.”
Rangasamy Ramanathan, MD, MBBS, director of Neonatology and an innovator in neonatal and pediatric respiratory care, pioneered the new technique of nasal high frequency jet ventilation. That technique uses a nose tube called a RAM Cannula that was named for Ramanathan.
“There is so much benefit for the baby and the parents with skin-to-skin care that our approach is to make it possible with the use of jet ventilators as soon as possible in babies with breathing problems,” Ramanathan said.
Tyler Beckett alternates with his wife, doing skin-to-skin with newborn Owen every other day. “I see his improving health and his improving strength,” Beckett said. “I am happy to think that I might be contributing in a small way, and it makes us feel better too. I am happier and calmer from the contact.”
The same is true for Steven Fine and his baby, Alia. “Skin-to-skin is our happy place,” Fine said. “It lets us not focus on any of the medical issues going on and just be with her and be present.”
Read more from the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Anxious About Breastfeeding? You're Not Alone
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