Caritas Baby Hospital aims at offering its newborn patients the best possible care conditions for a favorable development process. Thanks to a generous donation of German Rotary Club Lübecker - Bucht Timmendorfer Strand through the local Rotary Club Bethlehem City, several developmental care sets were installed in the neonatal and in the intensive care unit of CBH.The sets consist of a darkening blanket and three positioning aids for the child.
Neonatal nursery environments are often hectic, loud and stressful for the young patients. Developmental care modifies the nursery environment and introduces care practices that reduce the stress level of the child and promote normal neurological development. In turn, this may help to reduce a child’s susceptibility to disease. “An ideal care environment for a newborn, especially for premature babies, recreates the conditions of the mother’s womb; it is dark, calm and warm, the child is in a stable position”, explains the medical director of Caritas Baby Hospital, Dr. Hiyam Marzouqa Awad.
The blanket prevents light from infiltrating the incubator and provides the child with the necessary peace and quiet. The positioning aids give the child a safe and flexible environment during therapy, which enables it to find a relaxed position. "In these circumstances the child feels comfortable and can develop particularly well," adds Dr. Marzouqa.
So far, Caritas Baby Hospital has darkened the wards as a whole to offer the children an agreeable environment. Through the individual darkening of the incubators, the blankets now create more pleasant working conditions for the nursing staff. The hospital also used to produce the soft positioning aids itself. However, the new care sets are gentler on the incubators, as the filling material of the positioning aids cannot leak.
Author: Linda Bergauer
