Just in time for Mother's Day: Octopuses help preemies grow
Baby Boy Sebastian, in The Special care Nursery, St Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton holds on to one of the tentacles of this cute octopus made by Patricia Wright RN in the Women’s and Infants’ Program.
By 12 weeks, a fetus can begin to explore his or her own body. This has been seen in ultrasound scans showing the fetus holding onto the umbilical cord. When babies are born prematurely they continue to search for things that are familiar and comforting to them, as if they were still in the womb.
A study done in Denmark known as “The Octo Project” involved donated, handcrafted “Octos” to families with preemies in a few neonatal departments. They found that many of the preemies experienced better breathing and more regular heartbeats and higher levels of oxygen in their blood. Nurses noted that babies cuddling an octopus were less likely to pull out their monitors and tubes.
Pat Wright, a Registered Nurse read about the Octo Project and put her love for the crochet needle to work! “When I read about the benefits of these little stuffies, I wanted to make them and bring them in for our babies in the unit,” says Pat.
Sebastian’s mom smiled as she watched her tiny baby boy reach out in his sleep to hold one the tentacles of the little octopus beside him.
“I use 100 per cent cotton yarn and hypoallergenic stuffing” says Pat. “Every baby I give one to goes home with it.”
Pat has since made over 15 octopuses and continues to make them. “It takes me a couple of hours to make one.”
“The Special Care Nursery here at St Joes has 15 beds. Many of the babies here are inborn and about 30 per cent are preemies transferred from McMaster Children’s Hospital. We are hoping for a larger space in the future as we are a busy advanced level 2 nursery,” says Julie Pace, Educator for the Women’s and Infants’ Program.
“In preparation for the day the family gets to take their little one home, we teach them about safe sleep practices and not putting objects in the bed. While they are in our care, we reassure them that their baby is monitored under close supervision” says Julie.
This is a wonderful story of how one nurse brings evidence into practice. What started out as reading an article lead to picking up crochet needles and then watching many families smile.
Article by: Julie Pace, Nurse Educator for the Women’s and Infants’ Program.