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.

I do think the posters saying "I wouldn't want them touching MY baby" are missing how privileged they were to be able to do it themselves (as was I). My second pregnancy was twins and I was so scared what would happen when they came early and poorly l,I'm hospital for months, possibly different ones when we had a medically complex child at home who others couldn't easily care for. Thankfully they came at 36 weeks, healthy little heffalumps at nearly 7lbs each and totally healthy

Thank you. I'm too upset to write about it now. Hopefully @eurochick will think twice before making such an ignorant assumption on MN in future.

No, there were no reasons. I was fully acquainted of her situation. We knew each other and our lifestyles very well, thank you.

She and her husband just came once a day for an hour and that was that.

And the SCBU staff who we got to know well, were also disappointed at the lack of visiting, despite them making parents welcome pretty much all day and night.

Well that’s fine then as i wasn’t sure what the actual specifics were if it was just for all or just for the babies with no parents at all

When my son was born he was taken to scbu, I then became very poorly, needed surgery and ended up in critical care. My husband had our dd to look after and subsequently became ill with a bug so couldn't visit our ds. It was over Xmas and I am so grateful to the people who looked after him when I couldn't. I would get pictures sent up and on Xmas day they dressed him in a Xmas onesie and Santa hat. They made a Xmas card with his foot prints on. I would receive updates via my nursing staff that he had been getting lots of cuddles. I have no idea who looked after him and had to put all my trust in the staff I couldn't see. But this was much more comforting than the thought of him lying in a cot alone.

Yeah but dont forget, you mustn't 'judge'. I mean do you even know how much they spent on that holiday??

In all honesty, I'm not judging the parents who couldn't be there all day. Of course not. I wish someone would have held my boy so I could sleep or shower. I was just pretty shocked At how many people overly relied on the nurses to parent on their behalf the whole time they were in, rather than enabling them to do their job. I know the nurses felt the same, I had conversations with them about. They dont have time to cuddle. These volunteers are essential. It ought to be a paid service it's so important.

I had two babies in the NICU. First baby I spent almost a year in hospital myself after a catastrophic event. So I didn’t see my baby essentially till she was 1. She spent 4 months in NICU herself as it was

because I was in intensive care myself for the remainder of her stay in the NICU I would of adored anyone to cuddle her. Babies thrive on touch and she needed touch being so early and tiny

so yes. Having been very unwell myself which I couldn’t cuddle my own babies. Someone who loved it and cared for my baby I wouldn’t have a problem with ----

Fair enough if you knew them very well.

How did you know the SCBU staff were disappointed?

Some people on this thread!

It is a service available to many who may need it, for a multitude of reasons. I doubt ut will be forced on people who don't want to avail of it.

I think it's very positive to offer such a thing. If it gives comfort to a mother and her child and ease some of the stress at a very difficult time then, why not?

God this thread is depressing. Some people really can't see beyond the end of their own nose and just spout off about a headline. Do some research before you go yapping on. Empty vessels and all that.... I do recommend reading the thread in classics by earthmotherimnot for some context.

I got to know some of them very well, as I was in there from 9am until the evening every day for five weeks. It's quite a unique situation compared to a general ward.

I had no idea that this was a thing - I would LOVE to volunteer doing this. I adore babies, have two of my own older children and would just love to know I was helping a tiny baby in their first weeks or months of life, and a family know that their new baby was getting lots of cuddles and soothing if they couldn’t be there.
I’m going to look into whether this is a thing we do here in Aus.

My mum works in NICU and says that the number of babies with no visitors or infrequent visitors is quite upsetting. Obviously there are a whole range of reasons for this which have been covered on this thread but what is important is these volunteers otherwise some of these poor babies would have noone.

This has been a thing for years.
It is definitely not new.
I remember watching a news article many years ago about a grandfather who had won an award (possibly the British Empire Medal) for his dedication to helping look after babies in a maternity unit.

I adore people who put their hands up and say I was wrong or I didn’t read the replies.

I always pass on how good that is of you. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

You would rather your baby was lying alone in their cot than being cuddled by someone who had been carefully vetted and supervised by the hospital and had probably been volunteering there for ages? I would feel so sorry for your poor baby.

This professor set up the SCBU at King's College hospital that saved my life 43 years ago, weaned off heroin. He was a pioneer of these units apparently and obviously I never met him, but he probably would have thought the volunteers were a great idea. I remember him telling my dad that I was a "miracle of modern paediatric care ", - I also think these volunteers offer miracles to help babies thrive too. Anyone born tiny, early and helpless needs all the best treatment they can get - if this includes volunteers to help calm and soothe the babies, I think this can only be a good thing

Argh, link didn't work lol

https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/harold-richard-gamsu

Yes, me too!
We have far to little 'I was wrong' in the world, so big respect to NewYear2024.

Yeah. I couldn’t be with my own NICU baby because I spent 4 months in icu myself after her birth and then spent a further 8 months rehabilitating in hospital myself so I scarcely saw her.

i did have people to help but dividing up the time as to go see my NICU baby or me who they told them I was in a very bad way. I managed to not only to survive but to have another baby who again ended up early with a bleed on the brain for me so back into the hdppital

its not always clear cut why some people behave differently and I suspect a majority took the time whilst they had it to have some alone time. But I imagine a good 95% of them either had no one or had other emergencies.

Well, whatever it was, it wore off. Still don't sleep much, but I've been an argumentative knob since about 3 years old.

NewYear2024 has thought about this more and had a 360 turn. That was just her first thoughts.

So if you had no one who could visit your baby and you were so sick they thought you were dying you’d rather have no one cuddle your baby?

This is what it says on bliss ^^