The Neonatal Midwife

13/11/2024

It’s Neonatal November!
And World Prematurity Day on Sunday.
1 in 5 neonates born will require admission to a neonatal unit and this can increase depending on where you live due to a range of factors (socio-economic status, access to quality healthcare).

Today, I am grateful for all the neonatal nurses and midwives I have met over my career and the ones I currently get to play with 💜

In the week of we are sharing with you some statistics that all health care professionals working in the unit and the broader community should be aware of.

16/11/2023

World Prematurity Day (17 Nov) is a day to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth.

This year, WPDs theme is “small actions, BIG IMPACT: immediate skin to skin care for every baby everywhere”
Skin to skin contact is important for the regulation of temperature, self-regulation, improves gas exchange, reduces parental anxiety and stress states, bonding and so much more! See the comments for some journal articles backing this up.

How do you facilitate skin to skin in your practice?

EFCNI

02/11/2023

In utero, the growing fetus is subject to low-frequency noises. However, the high-risk neonate experiences much harsher sounds in the extrauterine environment. Despite many advances, modern Neonatal Intensive Care units cannot mimic the womb environment for preterm infants. Neonates are e...

01/08/2023

In my spare time I like to model 😉
Happy world breastfeeding week!

As we celebrate World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August), let us also acknowledge the invaluable support networks that empower mothers to breastfeed successfully, like the women in our photo supporting each other.

Partners, families, healthcare providers, and communities all play a crucial role in creating a supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers, ensuring they have the resources, education, and encouragement they need to thrive.

Child and Family and Community Health Centres can provide support and information on the Mid North Coast. Read more about services available locally here 👉 https://mnclhd.health.nsw.gov.au/latest-news/world-breastfeeding-awareness-week-2023/

Further information and support for breastfeeding mothers, workplaces, businesses and communities can be found 👉 www.breastfeeding.asn.au

29/07/2023

World Breastfeeding Week is coming up! Our local (and wonderful) lactation consultant has been working hard to celebrate this week. I’ll share this once it’s been released.

As we know, breastfeeding and expressing in the NICU and SCN can be challenging. Have a read of this link to see what we as clinicians can do to support families into a strong breastfeeding journey 🤱 💦 (check out from page 33)

It is almost World Breast Feeding Week 2023. A recent publication reviews the lactation barriers that NICU parents face, followed by what we, as NICU clinicians, can do to help families succeed in their feeding goals and provide optimal care. Click on the link to access the article:
https://nicmag.ca/pdf/NIC-36-3-Summer-2023-R18-web.pdf =33

15/05/2023

It’s been a while! But what better reason to dust off the Neonatal Midwife than with celebrating International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day 🦘

As neonatal midwives and nurses we see the benefits so readily for families that engage in beneficial kangaroo care such as a more settled baby, physiological stability, increased breastfeeding success and shortened length of stay.
For my own practice, speaking about kangaroo care is one of the first things I discuss with families on admission to special care. But kangaroo care is sometimes not supported for the duration of admission due to many factors such as lack of physical privacy, a comfortable sofa and lack of staff education, awareness and skills.

How do you approach kangaroo care in your unit? Do you find both mothers and fathers engaging in the practice? Do you have a policy or guideline supporting safe facilitation of kangaroo care? Would love to hear your thoughts ☺️

Kangaroo Mother Care is a care practice which empowers families – particularly mothers – to take control of their own and their baby’s care. This is why...

17/11/2022

Happy World Prematurity Day!
We are so lucky to work with the most vulnerable and the strongest patients 👶

Today is World Prematurity Day. Please help to raise awareness of the challenges faced by infants born preterm and the considerable emotional consequences to families. Share your story and now and then photos on this page, on your own Facebook and on any other page or group you may be a member of. It is important that we reach as many people as possible. 72 premature babies are born in Australia each day and 10% of babies born worldwide are born too soon. Also don't forget to wear purple today

17/11/2022

Happy World Prematurity Day!
We are so lucky to work with the most vulnerable and the strongest patients 👶
Did your unit do anything to “light it up” today? 💜

Today is World Prematurity Day. Please help to raise awareness of the challenges faced by infants born preterm and the considerable emotional consequences to families. Share your story and now and then photos on this page, on your own Facebook and on any other page or group you may be a member of. It is important that we reach as many people as possible. 72 premature babies are born in Australia each day and 10% of babies born worldwide are born too soon. Also don't forget to wear purple today

13/11/2022

Today is CDH Sunflower Day 🌻
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is a life threatening condition that has no known cause and no known prevention methods. It can only be resolved with surgery post birth.

My little girls bestie is a CDH warrior and what a warrior she is! Today, Abi is wearing yellow to support CDH Sunflower Day. Check out their page to find out more and to join in on the activities today CDH Australia

03/11/2022

Have you heard of the “halt hand”?

The halt hand is a late sign of a neonate being in pain or stressed.

Neonatal pain is chronically under-recognised and under-treated. Did you know that as late as the 1980’s, baby’s did not receive analgesia as it was deemed ’too risky’. Instead, these babes were paralysed with simple paralytics and surgery continued 😢

We can reduce pain in four main therapeutic ways -involving the family, offering breastmilk, breastfeeding/skin-to-skin and swaddling.

24/10/2022

World Prematurity Day and Neonatal November coming your way! What is your unit doing to celebrate this day? 💜 👶🤱

Why do we celebrate WPD?
Every year over 10% of the 130 million babies worldwide are born premature. In Australia 72 babies are born premature each day
Preterm birth survivors face a higher risk of developing short- and long-term health impairments such as learning delays and disabilities, or hearing problems compared to term born babies. It also brings considerable emotional burden to families and has implications for public-sector services, such as health, education, and other social support systems, arising from ongoing health issues, essential therapies or disability.
It is also a time to celebrate the achievements of babies born too soon and to remember those babies who lost their fight to survive.
So go purple this November 17 and help us raise awareness of the burden of preterm for babies, families, and the healthcare system. And also, don’t forget to get your now and then photos ready to share on Facebook.
Take the opportunity to raise the challenges and costs of preterm birth within your community by hosting a WPD wear purple gold coin donation day at your workplace or within a community group. Host a WPD morning tea or other fund raising activities.