World Prematurity Day: Raise awareness and make a difference!

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced neonatal units worldwide, including Canada, to adopt strict safety measures that unfortunately often separated parents from their preterm babies in the neonatal unit. As a result, there have been detrimental consequences for both babies and their parents.

We are advocating for every parent’s right to have unrestricted access to their babies in hospital, no matter where and when.

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Even without the additional risks of a global pandemic, preterm babies are among the most vulnerable patients worldwide and, as studies have shown time and again, they need their parents by their side. Healthcare systems need to balance the needs of babies born too soon, too small, or too sick and their families with the requirements to keep hospitals running and the staff safe during the pandemic and going forward. 

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Is parental involvement in neonatal care a good idea? Absolutely yes! It is not only possible but even strongly recommended since it helps hospitalized babies to thrive and parents to feel confident and supported in their new role. Separation practices in neonatal care on the other hand have proven to compromise parenting and lead to signs of depression, distress, and feelings of helplessness. In contrast, parent-infant closeness reduces mortality and morbidity, infections, hospital readmissions and even supports the lactation process in breastfeeding women. Therefore, on #WorldPrematurityDay2023, we advocate for empowering parents as key caregivers of their babies at all times by engaging them in good communication, education, and decision-making.

We are raising our voices together, under the global banner to “A Parent’s embrace: a powerful therapy. Enable skin-to- skin contact from the moment of birth”.