NICU team celebrate Mother's Day
In the run up to Mother’s Day on 11 March we are focusing on staff who support new mums and parents in their role at Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough City Hospitals.
Kate Rivett, Ward Manager, Julie Ince, Deputy Sister and Chevvy Bryan, Staff Nurse on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Peterborough City Hospital, look after intensive care babies from 27 weeks up until two months old.
Julie said: “Our role is to not only look after the babies on the unit, but to look after the families too, whether that be to counsel them through what is an incredibly stressful time, making sure that they eat and drink and then empowering parents to be parents.
“I will be working this Mother’s Day and on the unit we take photos of the babies to make cards for the mums and do hand and foot prints for them to treasure and keep. It can be quite emotional as parents can feel vulnerable and just need that extra support and guidance and you do build up a relationship with the families. We find that about 70% of the families come back to see us, which is always nice to see them doing so well.”
Kate said: “Often parents with babies on NICU don’t immediately feel like parents. They can feel quite frightened to hold their baby for fear of hurting them. The babies are often hooked up to machines and wires, so they ask permission from us to hold their baby or to feed their baby. We are there to support them through that and to show them that they can do it, despite all of the equipment, noises and wires. It is an intimate stage of someone’s life and it is a real privilege to be there for them at that time. They will always remember you.
“I will be spending Mother’s Day cooking dinner for my mum, dad and mother-in-law.”
Chevvy said: “The nicest thing about the job is arranging for parents to have their first cuddles or first bottle and breastfeed. I work on special care, which is when we are working towards discharging the babies and my role is to prepare parents to take over care. It can be a very emotional time, but it is so rewarding seeing the parents’ faces light up and giving them that opportunity.
“I will be working on a night shift on Mother’s Day, but my dad was in the Army, so we have always celebrated Mother’s Day and Father’s Day on different days when we can all be together as a family.”
Back to Trust News
