That was Donna Loi’s first thought after her twins were born unexpectedly at 23 weeks and six days at Sunnybrook. She recalls her fear of having Davin and Dalaila so early, and of learning they were only 600 grams in weight.

“I questioned why this happened to us, to our babies. I was scared and confused about seeing all the medical equipment surrounding their little bodies in the incubators. They didn’t look like newborn babies that I was used to seeing,” says Donna.

The twins spent 132 days in Sunnybrook’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The unit cares for the highest number of ‘micropreemies’, or babies born at less than 26 weeks. About a quarter of these babies are twins.

“We have focused our care on the smallest, most premature infants for many years now because this is the most fragile population of babies and they need us the most,” says Dr. Asaph Rolnitsky, Associate Chief, Newborn and Developmental Paediatrics of the DAN Women and Babies Program.

Sunnybrook’s outcomes are the best in the country for low complication rates associated with prematurity and also high survival. But having two babies in an intensive care unit is a tough emotional journey.

“Everyone describes the NICU experience as a roller coaster ride and they’re absolutely correct. But it isn’t a smooth coaster with one high peak and drop, it’s the kind of ride that forces your butt off the seat, gives you whiplash, and leaves your hair in a complete mess,” says Donna.

Dr. Rolnitsky agrees it is often a very rocky ride for families. He has reassuring words though. “The vast majority of preterm infants survive, and thrive, and reach normal development and quality of life. Even those who face challenges,” he says. “Parents’ involvement and role in the NICU is incredibly important as they are advocates for their babies. Their meaningful interactions with their babies – time cuddling, talking, singing and just being with them helps facilitate brain development. Parents are part of the medical team.”

Donna agrees that Sunnybrook’s family centered approach helps build parents’ confidence. When the twins were stable, Donna and Daniel changed their diapers, fed them, helped administer medication and vitamins and took them out of the incubators on their own. They were also encouraged to take part in decision making. Donna adds that the NICU team was there not just for Davin and Dalaila, but for her and Daniel too.

A highlight for the parents was when the twins were stable enough to come out of the incubators for kangaroo care, when babies are held skin-to-skin on a parent’s chest. “I was able to hold both at the same time, my heart dropped. This was a tiny glimpse of what I pictured having twins would be like,” says Donna.

Now the twins are two years old, going to daycare and thriving. “We are in a different place. We’re a silly, fun and happy family, and very thankful.”

The post The smallest, most fragile babies: One family’s story of their time in the NICU appeared first on Your Health Matters.

Shylee giggles enthusiastically, surrounded by toys, as her mom packs a diaper bag. “There’s a lot to cart around when we go out – her oxygen tank is the most important,” says Shanice, who looks proudly at her daughter, who was born at 24 weeks at Sunnybrook.

The pair are on their way to see the care team at Sunnybrook’s Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic. Shylee still uses oxygen for pulmonary hypertension and continues to smile as they hop in the car. Thankfully, their commute is just a 10-minute drive to a satellite clinic which sees patients in the Peel region once a month.

“Convenience-wise, it’s absolutely incredible,” says Shanice, who lives in Brampton and is grateful to have access to a clinic so close, with the same care team she’s known since Shylee’s four-month stay in Sunnybrook’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). “The clinic has all of the same staff we’ve come to know – it’s reassuring knowing we have access to this expertise close to home.”

Baby Shylee as a patient in Sunnybrook’s NICU.

Babies like Shylee, born at less than 30 weeks, and those who had complicated stays in the NICU, are seen in person and virtually by the follow-up clinic. Two satellite clinics, in Whitby and Brampton, provide accessible care for those who don’t live close to the main hospital when it comes time for an in-person visit.

“Sunnybrook’s NICU isn’t a postal code unit,” explains Dr. Rudaina Banihani, Medical Director of the Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic and a Neonatologist and Developmental Behavioural Pediatrician. “Our NICU is a level three unit, which means we care for the most premature and sickest babies from across the province. This model of care, where babies and families are seen close to home, really sets us apart.”

The model is longstanding, with the first satellite set up in the 1990s by Dr. Elizabeth Asztalos, a neonatologist with specialty in developmental pediatrics with the DAN Women & Babies Program. Satellite clinic visits comprise roughly 20 per cent of the clinic visits each month. The care team provide routine check-ins from the time a child is discharged from the hospital up until school age. Care in the clinic focuses on supporting each child’s developmental potential, by looking closely at motor skills, communication, engagement with the environment, and other important milestones. The clinic also prioritizes overall family well-being.

Dr. Banihani is quick to note the care doesn’t replace a child’s pediatrician, who are always the first line of call for acute care issues. That said, the team consults and collaborates with other health-care professionals, such as pediatricians, to identify each child’s strengths and areas for growth.

The Dhaliwal family are big fans of the model of follow-up care. Ranvir was born at 29 weeks and is now a very active six-year-old and a “bright spirit who has so much energy.” At Ranvir’s age, visits focus on the transition to grade level schooling, learning skills and peer relationships to support academic success and enjoyment of learning, as well as friendship building.

A present-day image of Shylee.

“Relaxed, comfy and no stress – that’s what it’s like visiting the satellite clinic,” says Kiranpal, Ranvir’s mom. “I know we’re getting the developmental support we need, and it’s close to our house. For Ranvir, it’s a lot of fun as there are so many toys and he gets to play.”

The interdisciplinary team is comprised of physicians with a knowledge of neonatal and developmental care, occupational and physical therapists, speech and language pathologists, and a registered nurse. All care providers specialize in the care of preterm infants and strive to collaborate with each family.

“From feeding to sleeping to toileting, we are focused on each child’s development related to their prematurity,” adds Dr. Banihani. “It’s fulfilling to meet families at different points in their child’s journey, from the hospital to starting school and beyond.”

For kids like Shylee and Ranvir, a visit to the clinic is all about play. “It looks like a play place – it’s bright and colourful. And we get to see familiar faces who truly support and cheer us on,” says Shanice.

The post Caring for families close to home appeared first on Your Health Matters.

“Watching them find their passions in life is incredible,” says mom Sandy Thompson. “There are no limitations. They want to try something new and they follow through.”

The twins had an early start to life. At 27 weeks of pregnancy, Sandy began experiencing a placenta complication. The girls were born, with Hailey weighing one pound, 13 ounces and Samantha weighing two pounds, eight ounces. Both were given a breathing tube right away and admitted to Sunnybrook’s neonatal intensive care unit. Samantha was able to progress from that in a couple of weeks to a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine after a few weeks.

Hailey developed an infection and was diagnosed with two serious heart defects. Her condition improved without the need for surgery. Samantha left the hospital 12 weeks after birth, and Hailey came home with Sandy and her husband Steven 20 weeks after she was born.

The family also learned the twins would be moved from the hospital’s Women’s College site to Sunnybrook’s Bayview campus, which Sandy describes as “seamless…the staff made the transition so smooth…and the new facilities were absolutely amazing.”

While thankful both girls are now healthy and thriving, Sandy admits their first couple of years of life were a blur. “It’s incredibly busy. You need to learn everything about caring for babies born prematurely, as well as trying to understand how to navigate the health care system and also transitioning from the hospital to community-based care,” explains Sandy, who adds that between both girls there were five to seven medical appointments a week during their first two years of life.

If she were to change anything about the girls’ stay in the NICU, Sandy says she would have taken advantage of the supportive resources at the hospital. “From social workers, to parent coordinators, there are so many supports. I would encourage families with a baby or babies in the unit to use all available services. I think they would have made my time easier as a parent.”

Looking at the family now, as they’re smiling, laughing and planning their next big hike, it’s difficult to imagine the challenging start Hailey and Samantha had in life. They’ve opted for remote learning during the pandemic, and the twins are excited to get back to a routine as grade five students.

Sandy urges parents of babies born prematurely to take each day as it comes. “If it’s a hard day, try to just get through it and hope tomorrow will be a better day. If tomorrow isn’t a better day, just hope that the next day will be better. Don’t be scared of the future. There is so much good ahead.”

The post Meet Samantha and Hailey: From the NICU to thriving 10-year-olds appeared first on Your Health Matters.

Rena Rosenthal, a registered dietitian in Sunnybrook’s neonatal intensive care unit, works with families to provide strategies to encourage happy feeding. A happy feeder is comfortable with eating and able to enjoy food and mealtimes.

“Parents who have had a premature baby are often concerned about weight gain for their infants and children, sometimes to the point where food, and eating enough of it, becomes a huge issue,” says Rena, adding that this can also be an issue for families who haven’t had a baby in the NICU. “There are a number of steps parents can take with the goal of making meal and snack times much less stressful.”

The ultimate goal is to have your child accept new foods, and also be in tune with their body to know when they are hungry and when they are full.

It’s normal for children in their toddler years (and beyond!) to be finicky eaters. The good news? There’s a lot you can do a lot to ensure your child is ready for a lifetime of enjoying food and mealtimes.

Here are Rena’s tips for families with children from age six months right through to the teen years:

Meals are partnerships

Everyone has a role to play in the partnership, with parents deciding what, when and where to feed and children deciding whether and how much to eat. This approach sets up kids, and their parents, for success. Children learn how to enjoy a variety of foods and parents learn to respect their kids’ hunger cues.

Meals = teamwork

Include your children in planning and preparing family meals. How much your child can do will of course depend on their age. For young children, sprinkling cheese on dishes or helping distribute taco shells to each member of the family is a fun role. Involving your children in menu and meal planning is a good idea too.

Schedule meals and snacks

Make a schedule and routine and stick to it. This means no grazing between meals, and all meals and snacks should be eaten together with your child either in a high chair or seated around the table.

“But she didn’t eat anything…”

What if your kid doesn’t eat much, or anything? Don’t panic, advises Rena. Children balance themselves by eating more at one meal and less at another. Focus less on what your child is eating and more on how they feel and behave at meal times. Your child should be offered the same food as the rest of the family. Do not prepare different foods for them.

Learn to trust your child’s cues

Respect that your child will learn to know when they are hungry and when they are full. Meal times are over once your child seems disinterested in eating or starts to misbehave (for example, throwing food). They can leave the table and play quietly while the rest of the family finishes eating.

Encourage family mealtimes

Come together over food and share stories about your day. It’s also an opportunity for your kids to see you trying new foods, meaning they’re more likely to try new foods as well.

Minimize distractions

Put away all technology, turn off the TV and separate mealtimes from playtime. Toys, as well as technology like phones or tablets, should not be brought to the table during mealtimes.

Embrace messiness

Let your child self-feed, even if they’re using their hands. Allow your child to feel in control when it comes to food and eating.

Don’t play games

Avoid entertaining or playing games to get your children to eat more. Don’t praise your child for eating or show disapproval when they don’t eat. Rena suggests no pressuring, bribing or sneaking food into your child’s mouth.

Be patient

Learning how to be a happy feeder takes time and patience. The more you practice with your children, the more comfortable they will feel about making their own decisions surrounding food.

Having a child who is a picky eater can be stressful. Remember there are constructive steps parents can take to shape their children’s view of food to ensure they become happy feeders.

If you’re concerned your child isn’t growing as they should be, or you and/or your child is feeling very anxious about meal times and feeding, be sure to make an appointment with your paediatrician or family doctor.

The post Is your child a picky eater? We have tips appeared first on Your Health Matters.

What a difference a year can make. 

The Fall 2018 edition of Sunnybrook Magazine featured a full-page photo of Navendu Dogra holding his son Arjan in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). 

“The photo is a hard-hitting reminder of the hope, and hopelessness, we felt every day having a baby in the NICU,” says Navendu. “We wanted to run away, and stay, at the same time.” 

Arjan was born weighing 710 grams – less than two pounds – in Kriti’s 24th week of pregnancy. Reeling from the shock of having a micropreemie, the couple also had to care for their three-year-old son, Angad, as their extended family all live in India. 

“Sunnybrook took care of me, so I could take care of my baby,” recalls Kriti, who would arrive at the hospital around 5 a.m. and stay late each night to be with Arjan. She recalls staff making his room as comfortable as possible, so she could pump breast milk and still manage to get a little work done.  

Meanwhile, at home, their older son was having difficulty adjusting to the significant time his parents were spending at the hospital. NICU staff recommended bringing Angad to the hospital to visit Arjan. 

Just minutes into his first visit, “he became a big brother,” says Kriti with a smile. Angad visited his brother regularly at Sunnybrook from that point on. 

Arjan celebrated his first birthday on Feb. 2, 2019, and now weighs 7.2 kilograms (nearly 16 pounds). He is crawling, pulling himself up and talks animatedly. His favourite word is “Angad,” which he yells gleefully the minute his brother arrives home from school. 

“I love this photo of us enjoying a day out together,” says Kriti. “There is so much joy and wonderful noise each day. Our lives are content and our family is complete. Thank you, Sunnybrook.”  

The post One year post-NICU, a family finds joy in every moment appeared first on Your Health Matters.

This amazing mural was done by the team at Northside Hospital Forsyth, Cumming, Georgia. Thanks for sharing!

What worked?

I think the education tips for staff and parents were amazing. It really got the conversation going for all of our staff – instead of just the ones who were already invested.  ~ Bonnie from Kelowna General, British Columbia

The Grandparent Challenge was super fun and spontaneous. Not sure you can buy that kind of enthusiasm.  ~ Luisa from Sunnybrook HSC, Ontario

I did a survey of grad parents and gathered some very powerful words that I shared with staff – this has been identified in our post-event survey as a very powerful motivator to get those babies onto their parents’ chests! ~ Joanna at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, New Hampshire

We used a “I’m ready to Kangaroo!” laminated sign at each bedside. During rounds, eligibility for kangaroo care was discussed, thus making a VISIBLE team decision for each baby. ~ Tammy from Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, New Hampshire

Probably the most important outcome of our kangaroo-a-thon was the increased parent engagement on the unit. It was very rewarding to read the loving messages that many parents added to their infants’ kangaroos that they posted on the wall every time they did KC. Another highlight was the increased participation of dads on the unit and it was very rewarding to see them holding their infants in KC. It was also just what our unit needed to create the momentum that we needed to increase the use of our new wraps that had been acquired and introduced prior to the kangaroo-a-thon, but were not being used on a wide-scale yet.  ~ Stacy from Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, Loma Linda, California.

We recently installed Roku boxes to the large tv screens in each pod, allowing us to personalize messages to parents and staff. They went live during the kangaroo a thon. I did notice that the hours of KC increased after this was up. We kept a running total of hours of KC and encouraged more of it. It worked!  ~  April from Woman’s Hospital, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

We had more parents in the unit and the families visited for longer periods of time. We saw infants in one weekend improve in their respiratory status going from HFOV to Conventional Ventilators, Ventilators to SiPap , one patient went from ventilator to HFNC all in one weekend. We saw weight gains on patients who had been maintaining, we had improved thermoregulations, we had happier parents and babies. ~ Kristin from Valley Children’s Healthcare NICU, Madera, California

The daily raffle draw for prizes (one for staff and one for parents) was a big motivator. We saw parents become more proactive and asking their nurse for KC time.  ~ Ashley from Erlanger Health  System NICU, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Our Neonatologist (and Medical Director) wore a kangaroo costume I bought for morning multidisciplinary rounds. What you can’t quite grasp is the fact that he is the LAST person anyone would think would wear a kangaroo costume. Everyone LOVED it and it was a great kick off to our Kangaroo-a-thon.  ~ Amy from Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I think the best part for me was when I went to collect the sheets at the end of the challenge and one dad said “Aw man, I can’t write on the sheet anymore? I wanted to get more hours than the whole sheet contained.” ~ Heather from Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial NICU, Orillia, Ontario. (Last year’s Level 2 winner! )

What could change?

Our neonatologist suggests that there be a category for “koala’ cuddling for volunteers. ~ Bonnie from Kelowna General, Kelowna, British Columbia.

We would love some funding! How did the rest of you go about getting any funding for your event?  Maybe we could have a running tally with all the hospitals on a website all together next year? And maybe a chat room where we could all be having a dialogue during the event? I think that would be really interesting.  ~ Amanda from Montreal Children’s, Quebec.

Level II specific education, We don’t have micro prems or long term vents so some of the education points, while interesting, were not as applicable. ~ The team from Peterborough, Ontario.

Find ways of communicating together during the challenge to cheer each other on! ~ multiple c enters

Find better ways of tallying hours.  ~ multiple centers

Start promoting earlier and bringing more team  members into the project.  This project really relies on an interdisciplinary approach ~ multiple centers

It’s hard to keep momentum going for two weeks. The first week is GREAT – how can we keep that going? ~ multiple centers

We also have a number of babies who have been in the NICU for over 1 month and many of 3 months, some over 6 and 12 months! So older babies can be challenging to do kangaroo care with, but we suggested to them to just do chest to chest holding. ~ Amanda from Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.

What next?

We are going to have a skills week set up for staff to practice transferring a baby on the jet, and also have staff practice having the parent pick the baby up out of the bed versus staff hand the baby to them. We are also going to be doing a year long incentive program with quarterly Rangers tickets, T-shirts, and other nurse staffing prizes (no float pass, no weekends for one schedule, etc.)  ~ Heather from Cook Children’s, Texas.

We plan on challenging some other Quebec hospitals next year. The response on our unit was amazing! ~ Amanda from Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.

I think it will be helpful to have extra kangaroo champions available periodically to encourage and support the bedside staff. ~ Debbie from Community Memorial Hospital, Venture, California.

Education of parents!! The nurses are all for KC but some of the parents haven’t bought into yet. ~ Dawn from Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Reno, Nevada

If there was a way to find out how other units were doing or how they had done this might have helped with the competitive spirit of our group. We have some very competitive nurses on our unit. ~ Trisha from Women’s Hospital, Greenboro, North Carolina.

I think our docs and nnps could still be bigger zealots and explain to parents why KC is so important. Ask parents every day on rounds; remind them again about the importance…Parents want to do what’s best for their children and we need to teach them about this. ~ Howard from Salem Oregon (last year’s winner!)

What interesting things did you learn (and/or did we learn from you)?

It was surprising to observe how competitive the families were with this challenge, and how they were interested in recording their hours daily.  ~ Donna from North York General, Ontario

We consider ALL of our babies eligible for skin to skin holding. Vents, chest tubes, umbilical lines are no barrier. The only time we stop is if a baby isn’t tolerating it well.  ~ Sheryl from Memorial Children’s Hospital, Indiana.

The eye-opening moment was realizing that kangaroo care is not only for pre-term but for term babies. We are going to concentrate on supporting kangaroo care not only the first few days of life but ongoing during the entire hospital stay. ~ Sandra, Northside Forsyth Hospital, Georgia.

Our longest baby held was 17 hours in 24 hours. ~ Lynn from IU Health North NICU Riley, Carmel, Indiana.

One nurse came to me to tell me how a baby was grunty and after a few minutes of skin to skin with the father, the baby settled and the vital signs were normal. She stated that this episode might have made her a believer in skin to skin. If one nurse was able to see the benefits to skin to skin than to me, this challenge was a success. ~ Lindsay from Thunder Bay NICU, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

We encourage skin to skin in the Operating Room if baby is stable, and also with any blood draws we will do skin to skin. We are now starting to engage the lab in this process also. ~ Margaret from Guelph General Hospital, Guelph, Ontario.

This year we had our L&D and LDRP units participate at the same time as us. They kept their own log sheets and educated patients and visitors on the importance of Kangaroo Care. ~ Diane from St Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

– – – – – – – –

Thank you all so much for sharing these thoughts and experiences with us.  What a remarkable community this is!  The generosity and dedication of all the Kangaroo Challenge participants is inspiring.  We would love to hear from you if you have suggestions for how to make things better or how to address some of the issues mentioned above.  We will continue to post and share what we learn, and are eager to keep this conversation going.

If you are wondering where your hospital stood in the grand scheme of things, here’s a graph that shows all participants and their totals (de-identified).   PDF: KC2016 (1) 

We know our American friends have big barriers to overcome regarding parental presence (i.e. different policies related to maternity and parental leave), so we are pretty impressed with their results.

Thanks again for being great sports, wonderful teams, and amazing people!

Happy holding!

The post More words from winners! appeared first on Your Health Matters.

This is the first year that the Alberta Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has participated in the Kangaroo Challenge. We are the surgical level 3 NICU located in Calgary, Alberta that operates as a single family room style unit.

A big highlight of the Challenge for us was that one of our premature and surgical patients on the unit was kangarooed for 28 hours straight by both parents as they took shifts.

One of our biggest challenges, as a surgical unit, was being able to accommodate parents holding their babies while doing our routine surgical care. We frequently were changing ostomy bags on babies while parents continued to do skin-to-skin care.

Another challenge we faced was parental presence in the NICU. We are the surgical NICU for all of Southern Alberta which means that a lot of our babies’ families are from surrounding areas and cannot be on the unit all the time. We are very understanding of the struggle parents face to try to be in the NICU with their infants as well as fulfilling their obligations at home. Families who were providing kangaroo care earned a kangaroo to place on their baby’s door for every hour they did skin-to-skin care which was a great morale booster and cultivated some friendly competition between families on the unit.

Unfortunately, we also had some babies on the unit that were accumulating very few kangaroos on their door. It was very important to us, as a unit, to demonstrate that we value the importance of positive touch for all babies, regardless of how often their family could visit. One idea presented by one of our team members was to print off koalas to place on the door of babies that were held by nurses or volunteers. These koalas were not included in the total of kangaroo hours we did as a unit but helped us in our goal to demonstrate to families and staff that we are active in providing meaningful touch to all infants.

The committee that decided to lead the Kangaroo Challenge at the Alberta Children’s Hospital NICU was the Parent Partnership in Care Committee. One of our main goals in the committee is to work in a partnership with our patients’ families as we assist them in becoming the primary caregiver and advocate to their ill infant.

One of the big changes that we noticed during the duration of the challenge was how families began to visibly become more comfortable in providing newborn care to their infants. Parents noted that they were able to more clearly identify their baby’s likes and dislikes, along with their baby’s changes in breathing and stability. It was obvious to us that as the NICU families spent more time proving skin-to-skin care to their infants, they were able to become more active in their baby’s day-to-day NICU care.

Though the Kangaroo Challenge is finished, we hope to keep the momentum going strong on our unit. Our goal this year was to simply open the dialogue between the NICU staff and families about the importance of skin-to-skin care for their infants.

We wanted to see parents asking for skin-to-skin care with their babies as well as NICU staff routinely offering it. Our team was blown away by the amount of participation and enthusiasm by the families in the NICU and it contributed to some excellent energy on the unit. Although we haven’t gotten together as a team yet to discuss our goals for next year, I think we are all believers that with passion and knowledge from the staff, we will be able to engage our NICU families and exceed our 3.5 hour/baby/day total from this year.

Thank you so much for sharing this with us – we LOVE the idea of a baby being kangarooed for 28 hours straight!  We send a hearty congratulations to the amazing team at Alberta Children’s, our 2016 Level 3 Kangaroo Challenge Champion!

The post Words from a winner (part 2) appeared first on Your Health Matters.

First up: Donna from the winning Level 2 unit, North York General Hospital (Toronto, Ontario)

I would say that the biggest challenge we overcame was surrounding skin-to-skin time being dependent on ‘do up time’ for the infants.  We would have several families sitting by the bedside, reading or on their tablets, but not holding their sleeping infants.  Some were afraid to hold, or didn’t realize that they could.  Once they started doing skin-to-skin, they so enjoyed it and didn’t have to ask any more … they expected to hold!

Our staff was used to encouraging parents to hold their infants, but usually around these ‘do up times.’  With the education and promotion of the Kangaroo Challenge, they realized that any time was Kangaroo Time, as long as the infant was stable.  We used the Kangaroo Toolkit provided by Sunnybrook to post pictures all around the unit, as well as their ‘Benefits of skin-to skin’ for Mom, Dad and Baby.  We also posted educational information in the Parent Lounge, common areas, such as the hand washing sinks, as well as the entrance door to the NICU to educate all.  We used the Daily Parent and Staff Tips and posted them on our white board in the hallway.  We created an interprofessional working group that met weekly to plan for this event, which was a great idea, as teamwork made this a possibility.  We also involved our Corporate Communications Department to promote our event on our Corporate Twitter feed.

We decided not to make individual kangaroos and hand out to families depending on the time they held, as we didn’t want to make any of the families feel bad, if for whatever reason they were not able to be present and hold.  We kept this event positive and fun for all.

We are going to keep this education going by leaving the posters and educational sayings up, as there are always new families coming into the NICU and we know that the benefits of skin-to-skin do not stop when the Challenge is over, as they last a lifetime.

Our longest cuddle was 10 hrs.    Our families were a very motivated and competitive group with 1 family holding for 9 hrs. and 40 minutes, 1 family for 9 hours and 4 families for 8 hours.  We really didn’t expect this, but once the Challenge commenced they were so eager to start!  The day the Challenge ended one of our Moms said, “Great, now I can give him a bath.  I skipped the bath so that I could get more Kangaroo hours in!”  We all had a great laugh.

We so enjoyed this Challenge and thank you for including us. We hope to surpass our goal for next year and keep ‘The Crown’, but realize that all NICUs have great staff members who provide nothing but the best evidenced-based care for their families in the NICU.  We are all winners in my mind!

Donna – thank you so much for sharing these wise words with us. You have an exceptional team at North York, and on behalf of all the babies and families you help, thanks for your wonderful work!

The post Words from a winner (part 1) appeared first on Your Health Matters.

You have been so patient as we’ve tallied up all the numbers you’ve sent in, and now it’s time for us to announce our winners. Out of 74 North American hospitals and 21 Australian hospitals, we are very excited to say (drumroll please) that the winners of the 2016 International Kangaroo Care Challenge are:

Level 2 winner:  North York General Hospital (Toronto, Ontario) with an average of 4.1 hours of holding per baby per day! 

 Level 3/4 Winner:  Alberta Children’s Hospital (Calgary, Alberta) with an average of 3.5 hours of holding per baby per day!

These numbers are fantastic, especially when we think of what they represent … hours upon hours of brain-boosting, attachment-building, stress-busting kangaroo cuddles!  The average length of time spent holding in Level 2 units was 1.74 hours per baby per day, and in Level 3 it was 0.98 hours, so our winners can really pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

Over the next few days we will be sharing some tips and tricks from the winners and from other units who accomplished some spectacular feats.  So please check back with us soon so we can continue to learn and improve together. Until then … happy holding!

The post We have a winner! (Two, actually) appeared first on Your Health Matters.

Today is the 5^th International Kangaroo Care Day, an incredible celebration of the power of skin to skin care. Created by the inspiring Yamile Jackson, a preemie mom and entrepreneur, it has grown into a true world-wide movement.

At Sunnybrook, our Kangaroo-a-thon concludes today, and we send a huge thank you to all the staff members, parents and babies who worked together to make it a huge success. We send an especially big thanks to our breastfeeding resource nurse, Luisa King, who has put in innumerable hours making sure this year’s was bigger and better than ever. The stats have not yet been tabulated, but we think based on the numbers so far that we may have bested our all-time record, AND managed to break new ground by ensuring many babies were held for more than 8 hours each day. We are so happy.

We are also thrilled by how our friends at other units have done with their Kangaroo-a-thons as part of the Kangaroo Challenge, in which units around the world engage in a friendly kangaroo care competition. We have seen amazing coverage in the news and on social media. If you’re on Twitter, you can check in on the action with #kangaroocare, #kangaroochallenge or #kangarooathon. We have also seen a satisfying number of medical professionals dressed up as kangaroos, which is something we will encourage our staff to do next year.

Our partner, the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, has worked hard to bring the Challenge to parents, and have posted some wonderful updates on the CPBF blog. (We’ve already watched the beautiful photo montage they created about a billion times).  They will also be offering up a lovely embroidered kangaroo to the winning unit; we won’t know who that is until the end of the month, but we will be sure to keep you posted.

We hope all of you out there enjoy today. If you are in the NICU with your baby, know that the gift of your touch is powerful beyond measure. If you are a staff member who helps reunite babies and parents, we offer you our sincere thanks. You are transforming lives with your work. And if you are home with your loved ones, give them some big hugs. They aren’t just for preemies, you know?!

Happy holding!

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