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The Cuddlers: Volunteers Nurture Hospitalized Infants
| Article
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12961 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1987 |
2,145 Words |
| Author
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Nancy Lee Fernas
Nancy Lee Fernas is a free-lance writer and associate editor
of Mercury Magazine, a publication of the Los Angeles Athletic
Club. |
Not so many years ago, the prognosis for a two-pound premature infant born with a seemingly endless number of physical ailments was not very promising. At best, the tiny baby might have lingered in its incubator for a few days or a few weeks as life slipped slowly away. It was a hard reality that nurses and doctors in neonatal intensive care (NIC) units everywhere were powerless to change.
That scenario has changed drastically. As a result of major advances in technology, even the smallest and sickliest of babies is capable of surviving those first few months of life. Hooked up to monitoring machines by tiny wires and electrodes attached to their fragile bodies, these babies often spend six months or more in hospital NIC units.
These "longtimers" need more than just medical care - they need love, affection, and human contact beyond what the nursing staff has time to give. This was brought home at Little Company of Mary Hospital Medical Center in Torrance, California, in 1981.
"We had a little baby with serious bronchial problems as the result of extreme prematurity who, at almost six months of age, was still in the nursery," explained Barbara Stapleford, clinical social worker at Little Company. "We felt that a six-month-old baby should be having more interaction and play experiences than he was getting. Since his family could come only once a week, the nurses suggested that a volunteer spend some time with him."
It was quite a novel if not shocking idea considering the rigid standards in most hospital nurseries. After all, this was the nurses' domain, where they had sole responsibility for the care of their little patients, aside from the nurturing provided by their visiting family.
Program MATCH Begins
The revolutionary MATCH (Maternal Child Health Care Volunteer) Program was officially introduced at Little Company, nine months after the baby whose situation impelled the cuddlers program passed away.
"It was sad that the baby who prompted the idea never had a chance to benefit from it," said Marilyn Kammerer, Little Company's director of volunteer services and the driving force behind the unique program. "But it made us aware that there were babies who could greatly benefit from such a
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