Job advert for volunteer to cuddle babies in NICU

[columbosscruffycoat]

My local health authority has just advertised for volunteers to go and work in the nicu cuddling babies. It’s not a joke, it’s a genuine advert. I can’t imagine any parent would want some random person cuddling their poorly baby. I can’t believe the nhs has come to this. Just wondered what people think about this and whether it’s happening anywhere else in the uk. I’m in the northwest uk.

That’s been going for ages.

On a positive note, at least one poster has reconsidered their views on the matter, and I’m sure I’m not the only who has learnt something from the thread.

This! Not all babies in NICU have parents, some are waiting foster placement.

Mum might be dead or too ill to cuddle. I think it's a great idea

I'm fortunate that my children didn't need extended hospital stays but I remember how much I didn't want to put them in the cot thing. I didn't mind at all other people holding them (admittedly family members and nurses) but hated the thought of them being alone in the cot. I'd be pleased about these volunteers. In fact I know someone applying and she'd be awesome. She's aware of the difficult circumstances these families may be in and wants to make a difference.

I just know how I felt at the time when we couldn’t hold him so when we could I wanted to I’d have felt very weird letting anyone else and I was so anxious about germs etc and hormonal I just would not have been happy at all

This has been a scheme for years.
It's brilliant and has a strong evidence base - it hugely helps attachment and brain development plus regulation of systems.
Not all parents van be there all the time, neither can friends or family.

These people are dbs checked and get training.

Not having addiction is privilege? Sure, mumsnetters may not have seen all dark things in life but use of a word privilege in this context is a bit weird

I would love to volunteer once I retire but I do wonder how it works. Having spent so much of my working life in a public-facing role getting a load of abuse thrown at me all the time, I would like a change of pace and wouldn't fancy volunteering in a role which would involve a lot of angry parents shouting at me and accusing me of stealing their children.

Are parents asked about this in advance? Are volunteers assigned only to the babies whose parents can't ever be there?

What about Johnny's mum who is there all day every day except for a couple of hours in the morning? Am they tasked with cuddling Johnny and then dealing with his mum who arrives at 9am screaming at them to put her child down and never touch him again?

I get that it's a role that's going to be hard in its own way but the comments here show that, unless it's something that's volunteered for by parents, it's likely to be a very conflict-heavy one.

I think it's a shame some people feel that way. Presumably you're ok with your baby being fed and changed while you're not here. Human contact is a need just like those things. And presumably you'd be ok if you came into the nurse comforting and holding your baby. As long as volunteers are trained, vetted, and not left alone, I don't get the issue.

These volunteers aren't used to supplant parents, they're a supplement. When the baby can be safely held, the parents or other close adult relatives are the first choice to do it. Volunteers help when parents aren't able for whatever reason.

My husband and I were on our knees when our youngest was in NICU. Trying to care for a toddler, recover from surgery, pump furiously, and navigate the steep learning curve of a very sick infant.

We ate like shit and we slept on a knife edge.

Nothing gave me more pleasure than arriving for a visit to find a that a kind nurse was comforting him in her arms despite all the tubes and machinery, even more so as I had some issues bonding in the beginning (pure trauma).

These cuddlers will be vetted and trained.

I think it's great, and I applaud it. So good for preemies to feel human touch.

Yes, it's unimaginable to most, but it really does happen. Or they even treat it like a day out to see the baby, rather than actually parenting every minute of the day they possibly can. It's really upsetting to witness.

Not all babies will be held though, I didn't get to hold my own until he was two weeks old, and they wouldn't need volunteers where parents were able to be there. Re infection, it's no different to the nurses tending them. They aren't just popping in off the street, chugging on a fag and picking a baby at random to snuggle.

My aunt has done this for many years too. Thank you for being as awesome as she is, it is vital for the babies.

I can see it would be beneficial for some babies but I just would not be comfortable with it for my baby

Have you ever had to leave your baby on their own in NICU?

You might be surprised at how some parents do not attend the NICU, even when they really actually can. I've seen it first hand and it's an eye-opener

Of course parents are asked and volunteers never have priority over parents. No one is "stealing" babies. They're there to provide human touch when parents aren't available.

Unless you know why they didn't visit as often as you deem appropriate it's probably best not to judge

I think it sweet, it can really help babies who are born with addiction, and babies who may not have anyone else to do it.

Honestly, I’d love that! No responsibility except to cuddle a baby, lovely! I think I can see myself volunteering to sit and chat with geriatric patients/babies when I retire. I’m already enhanced dbs cleared, bring it on!

I can see it would be beneficial for some babies but I just would not be comfortable with it for my baby

But they only would have held him if you weren't around or able to? They wouldn't have been preventing you from holding him.

You'd literally have rather he was left alone and distressed with no one to hold him than have someone else hold him and care for hom in your absence? You would have purposely prevented that?

And they'd have been subject to the same infection control procedures as the doctors and nurses.

Sorry...as much as I understand that having a child in the NICU seriously ill is traumatic and overwhelming, I just can't wrap my head around denying them the contact they may have needed because a parent wants to be the only one to hold them.

I really hope these volunteers aren't subject to abuse as part of their role.

My SIL does this. Works for the NHS, supporting children who need physio after neurological trauma. Part of her role is cuddling babies in NICU, often those who don't have a mother or father to do so. Many aren't placed in foster care for weeks or months.

Imagine, a baby having no cuddles for that length of time... These are hugely important roles.

Honestly: You spend time there and you will see it's true.