Bangalore: Motherhood Hospitals, Bangalore, today launched a Preterm Parent Support Group called Prepare. This group will provide emotional support to new parents who have delivered a preemie baby, by helping them clear their doubts, answering their queries, support them through the delicate phase of their life. This launch also marks the “World Prematurity Day” on November 17th and creates awareness on the rising numbers of premature births.
Talking about the NICU facilities at Motherhood, Dr. Prashanth Gowda, Consultant, Neonatologist and Pediatrician, said, “Treating preterm babies is a teamwork with highly skilled neonatologists supported by skilled nursing staff and advanced technology. Our team at Motherhood has handled some of the most challenging prematurely born, low birth-weight neonates and babies with sever and complex conditions through effective interventions and timely care. We are constantly striving to provide the best care to high-risk newborns through its state-of-the-art facilities and highly skilled team of neonatologists.”
“When I had my baby at the 30th Week, way before the due date, I was paranoid and depressed and didn’t know how to handle the whole situation and even to hold such a tiny baby properly. The fact that my baby is in the NICU with all that wires and tubes attached to her tiny body killed me every time I went to NICU to visit her. On our third day, a mother brought in her daughter who had spent time in the NICU and I asked her, ‘How did you get through months? I can’t even get through this day’. It helped so much to talk to her and gave me confidence to see her little toddler healthy and active”, said Ashwini, one of the parents from the support group.
Although there are a few online forums in our country to support the NICU parents, this is the first time a hospital has taken the initiative to provide necessary information and support to the stressful parents of the premature babies.
Talking on the launch, Dr. Vikas Satwik, Consultant, Neonatologist and Pediatrician at Motherhood Hospital, said, “Parents who have a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are under a lot of stress. And while doctors and nurses are monitoring their child 24/7, it makes a lot of difference and boost the confidence of the parents with premature babies by speaking to the parents who have gone through the similar experience and on how they overcame the emotional and physical challenges.”
After the antenatal and post-natal counselling, parents of premature newborns are extended emotional and psychological support that helps them be strong and take better care of their newborn. Support is given in terms of counselling, videos and one-on-one interactions with qualified personnel. The initiative here is aimed at bringing the parents together to interact and share their experiences and eventually create a self-sufficient support network amongst them.
Neonatal ICU @ Motherhood
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Motherhood is a level III unit and is equipped with state-of the art to handle neonatal cardiac emergencies and other critical problems of newborns. A full range of life support systems and comprehensive care for infants with critical illness is provided at every Motherhood centre. There is a team of doctors and well-trained nursing staff working round-the-clock at the NICU to take care of the newborns. The unit is equipped with incubators, high-end ventilators, bubble CPAP machines, high proficiency monitors, phototherapy units and arterial blood gas machines.
