New Video System Helping Parents to Keep in Touch with Their Premature Babies
Moreover, when it is time for mum to be discharged from the hospital, emotions can be extremely high. Many mums feel upset and guilty at the thought of going home without their new baby. Now, one hospital has introduced a new scheme to keep parents up-to-date about their left-behind premature baby throughout the day and night.
Staying in Touch
Parents of babies born at the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire can now take part in a new scheme designed to help them stay in touch with their newborn. Staff there have introduced a secure video system known as vCreate, which allows them to record videos and take photos of babies on the neonatal unit. These videos and photos can then be sent to parents for downloading when they are away from their baby.
The system uses a secure app that can be downloaded by parents and which will enable them to access updates. The idea is that when parents are not on the unit, they can still get reassurance that their baby is doing well.
Over time, a video diary will develop, which can then be accessed by parents 24 hours a day. When the baby goes home, the parents are able to download the full video diary before it is removed from the system.
Providing Reassurance
One couple who benefited from the system spoke about how it helped them through a very difficult time. The father said, “Me and my wife would just like to say that we both think that vCreate is a wonderful idea. It has helped us through a difficult time and it has helped the other kids – we enjoy getting the pictures and videos of him and it really helps that we can see he is doing okay when we are back home, since we can’t just go to the hospital and see him whenever we would like to.”
Helping Parents
As parents are unable to be with their premature babies 24 hours a day, the vCreate system provides a much-needed link to the neonatal unit. Neonatal sister Lisa Brady said, “We are so excited to have launched the vCreate service onto our neonatal unit, and hope that it will help to reduce some of the separation anxiety and worries which new parents are bound to have.”
She added, “This launch is just a small part of the work that we have been doing to ensure families are involved with their babies as much as possible.”
She explained that the team are planning to use the vCreate system as a content hub for parents, and they are hoping that it will enable parents to watch educational videos or ‘meet the team’. The system will also allow other family members to get involved with the newborn at an earlier stage.
Baby Beat manager Karen Entwistle said, “It is an extremely stressful time for parents and this equipment will allow parents of premature and sick infants to receive video updates of their child, provide reassurance, and help reduce anxiety during their separation.”
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