By Courtney Mintenko

VIDEO: ‘Cuddle program’ offers sick newborns a human touch

Feb 28, 2014 | 11:57 AM

paNOW Staff

Through baby Ayden's 12 days of life she has only known the inside of the Regina General Hospital's neonatal unit, but thanks to a volunteer program she's had plenty of cuddles.

“I'm just enjoying her. Holding her close, keeping her warm,” said cuddler volunteer Dawn Sorensen on Tuesday morning. For six years Dawn has been one of the volunteers who help give some of the tiniest patients a little affection, allowing nurses to concentrate on the medical requirements of their patients and giving the families of the patients an opportunity to take some time for themselves.

“It's very difficult to see any kid sick,” said Tom Sorensen, manager of neonatal intensive care, special care and newborn nurseries, “but especially when it's a brand-new one that you just brought into the world—it has that special impact on you. So we need (the parents) to go home and rest too.”

The cuddler program brings in people through the General Hospital's volunteer services to give the babies care. More than just comfort, the cuddling soothes the baby and encourages its development.

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“It's a soothing thing and it calms them down,” Sorensen explained. “Babies that sleep well eat better; babies that eat better grow better.”

“(The staff) say that it helps the babies develop, it keeps them relaxed,” Dawn said. “Some babies, border babies, need more comfort than others and I'm just happy that I can keep them content for an hour or two.”

Along with helping the babies and their parents, the cuddler program also helps nurses attend to the medical needs of patients.

“I've wanted to be a nurse as long as I can remember,” said Kaitlin Granger, one of the registered nurses on the unit, “and the main reason for wanting to be a nurse is I love that one-on-one patient interaction. And as a nurse, we're often quite busy and we don't always get all the time that we would like to get to spend with each individual patient. So to be able to have a cuddler come and take our babies for us and give them that extra bit of affection that they need is truly appreciated.”

Volunteer cuddlers get a little bit of training in infection control, proper hand washing, and the Health Information Protection Act before helping in the ward. Sorensen said most of the volunteers are retired, though others are still in high school. The Co-operators also takes part, bringing in its own staff as volunteers.

“This is our chance to have somebody hold the baby,” Sorensen explained. “It warms (the babies), they get comforted, they do better all-around. I think it's a great program and I think that it's great that there's so many people that want to do it.”

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