Studies show that human contact is just as powerful and important to the recovery of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as the medical care they receive.
“More frequent hospital visits will facilitate parental-infant bonding, encourage timely communication with the medical team, and reduce parental anxiety.” – Dr. James W. Collins, Lurie Children’s Hospital Chicago
NICU nurses and doctors are a critical part of NICU care, but they can’t be with each baby 24/7. Regular human touch is vital to a baby’s development and is proven to:
- Have significant impact on infant brain development
- Provide essential support for physical and psychological development
- Improve heart rate, respiration, and oxygen saturation in preterm infants
This is why daily kangaroo care, or skin-to-skin contact, is so important, especially for premature babies who have not fully developed. Babies who are born at 27 weeks and are too little to hold can benefit from hearing your voice and holding a finger. In 2018, we will provide more than 45,000 days of parking to more than 2,000 families. That’s over 1,000,000 hours for parents to kiss their baby’s forehead and hold their tiny fingers.
Providing complimentary parking for families with babies in the NICU allows children to be touched and held so they can heal faster, grow stronger, and have a better chance at life. It gives families time to be together, to comfort and love each other, as every family should when every minute matters.
Learn more about the financial impact of our program and how we bring families together. See the impact we’ve had on NICU families in 2019.
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