Through this year’s Bake for Babies fundraiser, the Newborn Intensive Care Foundation (NICF) is raising some dough to replace the ageing NICUcam in Canberra’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Nursery (SCN).
A live web-based streaming system via a camera above the cots of sick and premature newborn babies at Canberra Hospital, NICUcam was the original live stream system, but as of November 2022, it is no longer supported in Australia. Basically, it has reached its use by date. Angel Eye is the new high-tech option from the USA and has a distributer and support in Australia.
Coordinator of the NICF’s fundraising campaigns, such as Bake for Babies, Tina Martinovic has a special reason for volunteering to coordinate the fundraisers.
That reason is her son Kristijan. She says if it wasn’t for the NICF and the Canberra NICU/SCN, Kristijan wouldn’t be here today.
Tina was 27 weeks pregnant, expecting her second child. There were complications and in a matter of hours, she was delivering her beautiful boy by emergency cesarean, 13 weeks early and weighing only 1.185 kg. The odds were against them. To deliver so early meant there was only a small chance he would survive.
Kristijan spent the next three months in hospital. The NICUcam video streaming system became a vital link to Kristijan for Tina and her family.
While parents are encouraged to visit their baby as often as possible, this is not feasible for all parents, particularly if they have other children at home, work commitments, issues with transportation, or live interstate. This is especially the case for families from regional centres like the NSW South Coast, Monaro or Riverina.
Like NICUcam, the new Angel Eye system will provide remote viewing of individual babies via a secure website so that parents, who may be unable to be cot-side, can view livestream video images of their baby.
Tina says she is forever grateful to the NICF and the Canberra Hospital. The NICF provides funds for the vital medical equipment used in the NICU.
“Coordinating Bake for Babies is my way to show my immense gratitude to the NICU and to also help other critically ill newborn babies and their families by raising much-needed funds for the Unit. The NICU has a pivotal role and the NCIF is vital in assisting NICU to fulfil this role through assisting with the funding of medical equipment, education and research,” she says.
“Bake for Babies is a fun way to raise funds and is available for everyone to participate at any level and any age. The best part is, registered participants have the freedom to fundraise (and bake!) as they wish. They can get as creative as they like and, most importantly, have fun whilst supporting a truly incredible cause,” Tina says.
“Any contribution, no matter the size, can have a significant impact. So, put your aprons on and get baking. Yum!”
For more information and to register as a baker, go to www.newborn.org.au/bakeforbabies
