Preterm babies' parents integrated into care at Alberta NICUs in new research project

One in 12 babies is born prematurely in Alberta and a new research project aims to help them leave the hospital sooner, with parents who are more confident in caring for them at home.

Through a plan dubbed "Family Integrated Care,"nurses involvefamily members in the routine care ofpreterm newborns, including things like holding the tiny infants and changing their diapers.

The research team is hoping to demonstratethat babies treatedin this waywill be discharged from neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in less time, while parents will also be better prepared to care for their babies at home.

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"Parents are often under stress and afraid to take their babies home because they aren't involved from the start with the baby's care," said Dr.Abhay Lodha,a lead researcheron the project.

"Our study will build that skill and confidence by involving the parents early on with our experienced and well-trained clinicians."

KarenBenzies, another lead researcher, said thetypical length of stay for a preterm baby in a level-two NICU is 16 days and the goal is toreduce that by at least 10 per cent through the new approach.

JanineCharleswas in and out of the hospital for nearly a month to help with careafter her sonDeegan was born prematurely, while nurses and doctors handled round-the-clock care for him.

It was the second pretermbirth for Charles, who said this latest experience was easier than the first.

She thinks the new approachwill be helpful for many parents.

"If this was their first time with a baby in the NICU, I think it would help them feel a lot more comfortable and certainly go home a lot more confident," she said.

The study is set to continueuntil March 2018, involving about 600 preterm babies atall 10 of Alberta's level-twoNICU sites.

Alberta has one of the highest rates of preterm births in Canada, according to Alberta Health Services, and caring for theseinfants costs the provinceabout$35 million a year.

More information about the study can be found here.