Premature baby’s first feed a tech triumph
A MOTHER was able to see her premature baby feeding for the first time, despite being too unwell to see the moment live, thanks to a new piece of technology.
A web-based maternity app – vCreate – allows nurses to record special moments that would have been missed in the past by parents of premature babies.
Suzanne Jenner was the first mum to benefit.
Her daughter, Jessika, was induced on 22 March because Mrs Jenner was suffering from gestational diabetes and the delivery did not go smoothly.
‘I was whipped off to theatre and she was whipped off to the neonatal unit,’ Mrs Jenner said.
She did not get to see Jessika again until 3pm the following day, by which point she had missed the baby’s first feed.
But thanks to vCreate the nurses were able to record her husband, James, giving Jessika her first feed.
‘The technology is brilliant,’ said Mrs Jenner. ‘It was so lovely to see that.’
The Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation provided the funding for the tablet and the app subscription.
The idea to bring it to Guernsey came from senior staff nurse Christel Braybrook, who read about it in an infant journal.
‘It’s a great idea and it makes you feel like you can do your job a bit better,’ she said.
‘It is so hard for parents of premature babies, so anything that will help them is a great benefit.’
The app means that parents can go home for a rest or spend some time with older siblings, safe in the knowledge that nurses can record video updates that can be sent securely to the parents’ devices.
PPBF co-founder Jo Priaulx said as soon as she heard about the app, she knew it was something the charity would like to support.
‘I know how difficult it is to have to leave your baby in hospital,’ she said. ‘When Sebastian was born, I had to leave him each night for the 20-mile return trip home as we were living in the UK at the time.
‘It was 17 years ago, but the memory is as fresh as if it was yesterday and it was so upsetting to leave him each night.
‘This new technology will give new parents such reassurance as well as an incredible record of how far their baby has come.
‘We’re very excited to be involved and thank everyone that supports the PPBF.’
