When I graduated from Nursing school my plan was to go and work in the adult care unit at our local hospital. This was the area of nursing that I really loved, so I really didn’t think about other areas. But when I went to interview at the hospital the recruiter asked me if I’d be interested in the NICU. I’ll be honest, the NICU and all those tiny babies scared me. But as soon as I walked through the unit that was home to over 50 babies at the time, I knew this was the place that I was meant to be.
The NICU will always hold a special place in my heart, not only because I worked there for over 7 years caring for the tiniest of patients, but because two of my kids were born prematurely. November is Prematurity Awareness Month and is the perfect time to bring awareness to some very important ways that we can all do our part to help these tiny little babies grow and thrive. Huggies wants to help do their part too! Recently Huggies launched their newest program, No Baby Unhugged.
HUGGIES No Baby Unhugged
No Baby Unhugged is a special program that will help interested hospitals start volunteer hugging programs or develop existing programs for NICUs by providing monetary grants. Nationally-ranked Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago is the first hospital to receive a Huggies No Baby Unhugged grant, which will go towards specialized training and ongoing support for their NICU volunteers.
In my time at the NICU I saw first hand the power of hugs. We were fortunate enough to have volunteers to come in and hold and hug the babies. It was a magical experience. But you don’t have to take my word for it, because there is actually science behind the power of hugging babies. Research shows that this natural act of hugging can do more than calm a cry. Hugs can help keep a baby’s heart beating at a normal rate, improve sleep, support healthy weight gain and lead to an improved parent-baby relationship.
How Can You Help Babies In The NICU
Visit Huggies.com/NoBabyUnhugged and sign up to become a Huggies Member. For each new member Huggies will donate $5 to support volunteer hugging program grants for hospitals. Also watch this special video below brought to you by Huggies and share with your friends and family to help bring this program to life.