Kangaroo Care

Hi readers!

I am excited to teach you about kangaroo care, an occupational therapy treatment used in the NICU. Kangaroo care (KC) is a way for a mother or father to hold their newborn involving skin-to-skin contact. The baby, naked except for possibly a hat, diaper, and blanket over its back, is laid on the mom or dad’s bare chest. This method is similar to a joey (baby kangaroo) in its mother’s pouch, which explains the name. Occupational therapists encourage new NICU parents to do kangaroo care with their premature infants.

Kangaroo care has been proven to benefit babies in many ways. Kangaroo care can stabilize a baby’s heart rate, improve oxygen transfer, regulate body temperature, and much more. Breasts can change temperature by themselves in order to help the baby regulate their temperature. For example, if the baby is cold, breasts naturally increase in temperature in response. Also, through studies, it has been shown that babies during kangaroo care can fall asleep within minutes. The extra sleep on a mom’s chest, with help in regulating temperature, helps the baby save energy and calories, which allow the baby to concentrate on growing rather than temperature regulation.  

An occupational therapist’s goal is to help patients thrive in life. Sometimes OTs need to help and support the parents too in order for them to best support their child (the patient). Moreover, kangaroo care also helps the parents, which tends to lead to better care of the baby. Kangaroo care has been shown to increase breast milk production, increase parents’ confidence to care for their baby, and improve bonding with their baby, which has been shown to decrease the occurrence of postpartum depression in new mothers.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

"All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and someone who believes in them” –Magic Johnson

 

 

Works Cited

"Kangaroo Care." Children's Cleveland Clinic. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, July 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

Vergara, Elsie, et al. "Specialized Knowledge and Skills of Occupational Therapy Educators of the Future." American Journal of Occupational Therapy 63.6 (2009): 804-18. Aota.org. American Occupational Therapy Association. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.

 

 

 

Occupational Therapists’ Role in the NICU

An occupational therapist (OT) can work with adults, but they can also work with the tiniest of patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU is for premature or ill newborns after birth. Occupational therapists are trained to provide a wide range of services to the baby and their family. OTs conduct evaluations, provide treatment, educate and support the family, and eventually plan discharge. Many NICU babies are premature, so there is a lot of developmental and physical care needed to help them grow in a healthy manner. Occupational therapists look at feeding, sensory development and regulation, positioning, massage, and parental education.

For example, sensory development and regulation is critical to a newborn's development, in or out of the NICU. However, the hospital setting of a NICU makes sensory input even more difficult to control. Touch, movement, light, sound and many more sensory inputs can be overbearing to a newborn, who has been in a dark, quiet, and warm place for the entire start of its life. It is important for OTs to control these inputs in order to not cause the baby physical stress, which can lead to an irregular heart rate and many more problems.

Occupational therapists play a key role in a NICU baby’s care. Doctors will save the baby, but the OTs make sure the baby thrives and develops to their fullest potential.

Thanks for reading,

Kayla

“There is no rational reason to remain a pessimist in a world full of so many miracles.” -Unknown

Works Cited

Nightlinger, Kathleen. "Developmentally Supportive Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Occupational Therapist's Role." Neonatal Network 30.4 (2011): 243-48. PubMed. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

N.d. Program in Occupational Therapy. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Welcome back, readers!

Almost every time I tell someone my major, Occupational Therapy (OT), I get a general nod and smile. You can tell right away that the person doesn’t know what occupational therapy is or what occupational therapists do. Usually someone will say, “Oh, so you help people find jobs?” This is a very common misconception, or maybe someone will say we are basically like physical therapists. Well, we work together sometimes, but our treatments and the type of patients we treat can be very different despite some coordinated care in some cases.

So what is OT and what do occupational therapist do?

Occupational therapists work with people of all ages from the beginning of life to death. Occupational therapists evaluate what their patients can and cannot do due to physical or mental disabilities from accidents, birth defects, and much more. Occupational therapy concentrates on treatment consisting of activities of daily life (ADLs). Occupational therapists may teach a child with nerve damage a new way to write their name. They could also teach a geriatric patient how to bathe or cook again after a stroke. Sometimes occupational therapists help patients with mental disabilities function in society or help them find a job. They even help the smallest patients, like babies that are premature, with sensory input, so that they can continue to develop in a healthy manner.

I think occupational therapy is such an important part of healthcare that is unheard of in the general population. I hope I can educate many people about OT through this blog during the next few months. Next time, I will talk about what the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is, the type of patients the NICU helps, and how occupational therapists play a role in the NICU.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kayla

"Occupational therapy practitioners ask, ‘What matters to you?’ not, ‘What's the matter with you?’” -American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

Works Cited

Occupational Therapy. (2016). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1p. 1.

What is Occupational Therapy? (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2016, from http://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy.aspx

Welcome!

Hi everyone!

My name is Kayla, and I am a sophomore in college majoring in Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. I hope to one day be a pediatric occupational therapist (OT) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). I always knew I wanted to help others in the health care field and work with kids, but for a while, it was difficult finding something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. When I found out what OT was, I found my calling and never looked back! For the next few months and possibly beyond, I will be posting weekly blogs about occupational therapy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. If you have never heard of OT or don’t know what the NICU is for, you have come to the right place! Through this blog, I hope to learn things as well as inform others about my passion and future career. I will discuss what occupational therapy is and what occupational therapists do in their practice, what and who the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is for, different therapies used in the NICU, and much more!

I hope you come back next week,

Kayla

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” -Unknown