Couple in world first study

|

Couple in world first study

NEW parents Jessie and Matt Holland from Mirboo North have taken part in a world-first study with their baby boy Ziggy to assess the safety of skin-to-skin care for very preterm babies on breathing support.

Skin-to-skin care, also known as kangaroo care, is a process in which a newborn child is placed on their parents’ bare chest wearing just a nappy.

The care is said to have many health benefits including improving weight gain, reduce infection, and improving infant-parent bonding and breastfeeding in term babies, but had not been studied on babies like Ziggy before.

“I was a little apprehensive at first. He was so small and had so many wires and tubes hooked up to him,” Matt said about holding Ziggy for the first time.

“He was very fragile in those early stages and I really had no idea how it would affect him.”

The study was conducted at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne on 40 preterm babies from 26 to 30 weeks gestation, and Matt and Jessica were happy to be involved after Ziggy was suggested for the study.

“As we had been doing from the very start, we listened to our nurses and doctors as they really pushed us to experience the whole skin to skin thing. They reassured us that not only would it be extremely beneficial for Ziggy, it was also super important for both of us to take such an early opportunity to connect with our tiny little man,” Matt said.

“I’m really happy that they did. He was clearly a lot calmer when he was resting on one of us and I definitely felt more like his dad when I actually got to hold him.

“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and it certainly made a tough situation that little bit easier to handle.”

Ziggy Holland was born on December 7, 2016 10 weeks and one day early, weighing just 1214 grams and 37.5cms long.

He was born via emergency caesarean at the Royal Women’s Hospital after Jessica was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia.

“We cannot thank the Leongatha Hospital and the Leongatha Medical Clinic enough,” Jessie said.

“They were so thorough and it is a shame that we couldn’t have our little man at our wonderful local hospital.”

Seventy-two hours after Ziggy was born, he was finally able to be held by his mother thanks to the skin-to-skin care.

“It was so scary the first time that I finally got to hold him. He was so small and fragile,” Jessie said.

“I knew that I would feel better after I finally got to hold my little son, but I was so unsure if it was good for him.

“I love that this research has been done to reassure all the mums and dads that it benefits us all.”

The study has shown skin-to-skin care is safe for very preterm babies like Ziggy who need respiratory support.

Hold you close: new mum and dad, Jessie and Matt Holland from Mirboo North held their baby boy Ziggy using skin-to-skin contact in a new study conducted at the Royal Women’s Hospital.

Short URL: /?p=20729

Posted by on Feb 28 2017. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Share your love
Facebook
Twitter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *