Promote parent involvement (FICare)
Family Integrated Care (FICare) reduces stress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for parents, babies and staff by supporting and educating parents to take an active role in their baby’s care. Family Integrated Care has proven to positively influence emotional, mental and physical health OB of premature or low-birth-weight babies and of their parents. By eliminating monitoring wires, the Bambi Belt promotes and simplifies FICare.
Remove wires to promote and simplify FICare
Elimination of wires through use of the Bambi Belt decreases physical barriers.
One of the overwhelming emotions for parents of a newborn receiving intensive care is helplessness. Seeing their baby in an incubator or needing nursing staff to hold and handle the child can be extremely stressful for parents FR MC . The wires discourage parents to partner in their infant’s NICU care (Family Integrated Care) FR . The almost complete elimination of wires through use of the Bambi Belt decreases the physical barrier between them and their babies MC . The nursing staff can start to train the parents to handle the baby much earlier.
Because staff performing FICare explicitly invite and teach parents, parents are less afraid to pick up their loved one, and more eager and able to change diapers, check temperature, administer oral medications and breastfeed CH . The absence or reduction of wires makes these care tasks easier, and thus encourages FICare even more. Performing these care tasks gives parents back some control and increases their confidence as a primary caregiver CH FR . They experience less anxiety and a lower risk of postpartum depression CH FR MC .
With the FICare approach, less hospital attendance is needed. But more importantly, it leads to healthier babies
CO
FR
MC
MB
OB
PT
NY
. They grow faster
CH
FR
OB
, have less stress
CH
FR
, suffer from fewer infections
VE
and receive fewer antibiotic treatments
MC
. Their mental and psychomotor development is better
FR
OB
. Their NICU stay and hospital stay are shorter
MC
PT
and they are less likely to be readmitted
CH
PT
.
Through stimulating and simplifying Family Integrated Care, by amongst other using the Bambi Belt for monitoring vital signs, babies are probably healthier and happier and need shorter intensive care than babies monitored with traditional ECG wires.
By using the Bambi Belt, babies' skin isn't harmed when adhesive electrodes need to be replaced or removed. And because babies' skin isn't harmed, babies experience less pain and are less vulnerable to infections CA PO . By reducing stress in parents and promoting and simplifying FICare parent participation, it also reduces total workload for NICU staff through task delegation and earlier hospital discharge CO MO .
Staff get to safely and more accurately monitor babies without being afraid of harming babies’ skin
The Bambi Belt
By eliminating monitoring wires, the Bambi Belt promotes and simplifies FICare. The Bambi Belt monitors the heart rate and detects apneas of babies with a blue silicone belt. The white Bambi Bridge sends the data to the Bambi Interface, which is connected to the patient monitor.
Eliminating wires improves Kangaroo Care, promotes Family Integrated Care and reduces pain and stress for the baby. This means that NICU babies can grow and heal faster and bond better with their parents. The NICU environment will be much more relaxed for parents, staff and the babies, making babies' lives better.
Articles related to Family Integrated Care
