Just as icing is to a cake, so the Christmas tree is to the festive season – and there’s no such thing as too much decorating! A local charity is inviting the Canberra community to add baubles and bows to their digital Christmas tree by donating to help the sick and premature babies of our region.
Baubles for Babies is a fun and interactive way for the community to get involved this festive season, with all the funds from their digital tree going to the Newborn Intensive Care Foundation (NICF), a volunteer-run charity aiming to improve the stay of families receiving care at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Nursery (SCN).
Located at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children (CHWC), the go-to centre provides urgent and intensive newborn care for both the ACT and NSW Southern Highlands. Around 700-750 babies pass through the door of NICU each year, with an estimated 350 of those coming from NSW to access the sophisticated and life-saving equipment, such as the assisted ventilation system the tiny patients wouldn’t be able to access in other hospitals.
“It’s hard enough being in NICU, if you’re there over this time of year you just want it to be as nice as it possibly can,” says former NICU mum and Baubles for Babies coordinator, Karen Coe.
Karen’s twins spent months in the unit after they decided to enter the world through a surprise delivery at 25 weeks. She says without the dedicated team and equipment at the unit, her twins wouldn’t be preparing for what will be their first ‘fun Christmas’. During her babies’ time there, Karen learned that while the government funds the unit’s day-to-day essentials including the staffing, equipment, and stock, additional funding is required for those extra items that make the difference.
“What I want to do is take every opportunity to make sure future families that were in my position have the best possible experience they can, noting it is the place you don’t want to be but if you are, you’re there for a reason and you’re thankful it exists,” she says.
By choosing to help decorate the tree with a bauble, light, candle, present, bell, or even placing the star on the top of the tree, your contribution will go a long way to helping the families in NICU. Different decorations have different values to suit a variety of budgets, and donors can choose to leave a photo or message with your contribution.
The equipment the Foundation funds goes to help the wide range of problems that can present during that newborn period, from premature babies, those born too small to those who are born too large. The equipment helps prevent brain and lung damage, Cerebral Palsy, blindness, and other complications. The Foundation also supports research, educational activities, and equipment that isn’t available through regular government channels.
“By having the best equipment and the best specialty trained staff and technology, it can mean the difference between life and death for these babies born too early or really sick babies,” Karen explains.
Funds raised through the Baubles for Babies campaign will go towards the purchase of more recliner chairs for the unit. The chairs support skin-to-skin contact – cuddles and feeding, those important bonding moments between parent and child in the early stages. Skin contact has also been shown to improve overall health outcomes, such as regulation of temperature and breath work, when received early and often.
Karen says there are currently not enough recliners to supply one for every room and the difference they make to the experience is immense, especially when some parents are there for long days. During her time with the unit, she was there for up to 16 hours a day without a guaranteed comfortable place to sit, likening the other chairs to standard dining chairs.
“It’s not only for the mums or dads or families but it’s for the safety of the children. You’re brining these sick premature babies out of their humidity cribs and there’s not a comfortable place to sit to cuddle them, to me that is shocking,” she says.
Then, as the babies begin to grow bigger and stronger, the mothers have to not only hold their fragile babes, but also have to try and nurse their children; an activity that can be stressful and uncomfortable even when a good chair is available, especially if you have to juggle twins. Nurses are often being called away from other important duties to help mums find or rearrange available chairs.
Karen admits that before she had to spend time in the unit, she didn’t realise it wasn’t completely funded by the government and is hoping the community can come together and help them.
“All the extra things the government doesn’t fund really matter to the people who are in that position, stuck in NICU for days, weeks, and months – it’s a really hard time. So, let’s make the rest of it as easy as possible,” she says.
The campaign is aiming to raise $20,000 and donations are open until 31 December. Add your decoration to the Baubles for Babies tree and help bubs in need via visufund.com/canberra-newborn
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