The Importance Of Play In The NICU

Unoccupied play - Generally the young infants will engage in this type of play. They tend to be looking at their hands or keeping to themselves. They don’t seek contact with another

After the delivery, the heat from the mom’s body can warm the baby and maintains the baby’s body temperature. For instance, when nursing students were at the operating room at Saint Peter’s Hospital during the C-section delivery, as soon as the baby was out, the doctor placed the newborn on the mother’s chest. When the mother was alert and awake during the C-section made it possible for the baby to stay on her chest on the first hours after the birth. It was one of the most beautiful moments in life. Nevertheless, there was another C-section birth of diabetic mother. She was not fully awake during the C-section and the doctor only did not promote skin-to-skin mother and the newborn. The doctors and nurses at Saint Peter’s Hospital support and encourage skin-to-skin for mother and newborn right after the birth if there is no complication on mother or baby or when the condition is possible. Saint Peter’s Hospital has policy for vaginal delivery, “all infants that meet the criteria for initiate skin-to-skin care shall have skin-to-skin care implemented as the standard of care immediately after birth and as needed thereafter regardless of feeding preference”. They promote skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby immediately after delivery. However, mothers and babies have a physiologic need to be together during the minutes, hours, and days following birth, and this time together significantly improves maternal and newborn outcomes.

The first hour of life for an infant doing skin to skin contact with their mother provides warmth, protection, and nutrition. The closeness of being on the mother’s chest provides a continuation of hearing the mother’s heartbeat and voice. This is the one place an infant feels most content knowing all their needs are met.

The terms “play”, “learn” and “teach” are commonly used in the early childhood sector. This essay attempts to define and interconnect these terms to produce a holistic understanding of how play can be used as a medium to help children learn.

Early childhood educators are well aware of how important a role play is to a child's learning and development. Teachers intuitively know that play is an integral part of a young child's life. Being able to play, both with others and alone is a crucial aspect of a child's healthy development. Much research has been conducted on the subject of play and children's development. It has been documented that play enhances a child's physical, emotional, social, and creative

Different authors looked at different variables as well as used their own methods in reducing light, noise and movement. Comparing all of the studies, it was difficult to find any strong patterns or consistencies between studies apart from the inclusion of light in more than one study. It is evident that in this field, different researchers have analysed different variables and used different methods, which makes it challenging to fully solve this problem in preterm infants. In terms of the overall hypothesis, there is inconclusive evidence and not enough studies done in the area about the effect, if any, of light and noise on the neuropsychological development and sleep patterns on preterm infants. Despite the limited number of studies on the variable of movement, all researchers agreed that movement (tactile/kinaesthetic stimulation) had positive effects on a range of developmental outcomes of preterm infants. Ultimately, the fact that Physicians have complained about the detrimental impact of unacceptable high levels of these variables in the environment of the NICU ward, and nothing has been done to change it yet paints a very bleak picture for the neonatal preterm infants of the future. Only two studies suggested new solutions for this ongoing problem, but yet again none of these have been tried, tested or proven in real cases. The fact that there are barely any studies done on the variable of constant movement makes problems in this field of research even more challenging to solve, hence the need for further interest and research on the specific variables of constant movement, light and noise if we are going to provide and create a healthier NICU environment and future for our next

It has been documented that children undergoing surgery and their families experience high levels of distress and perioperative anxiety. Stress and perioperative anxiety have the potential to cause more harm on post-surgical healing, in consideration of both physical and mental health, if not addressed promptly and properly. Child Life Specialists are pediatric healthcare professionals who are able to provide interventions to help reduce anxiety and increase developmental growth within pediatric patients, provide family centered care, and facilitating therapeutic play interventions for pediatric patients, all the while in the hospital environment (Child Life Council, 2014). Child life specialists are able to meet these values and missions to create a standard of practice that the American Pediatric Association recommends in all pediatric healthcare settings (Child Life Council, 2014). Typically, when child life specialists are working with pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures they are able to participate as a part of the multidisciplinary health team to provide family centered care and increase a patient and their families understanding on the medical procedure at hand. A common intervention for pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures include medical play and medical preparation sessions.

On top of their many responsibilities with the infants, NICU nurses are also given the task of educating the parents or guardians on how to care for their babies once they are finally able to take them home. Often these babies are sent home while they are still recovering from their condition and still require special care, these nurses are committed to ensuring the babies continue to grow strong and healthy. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Registered Nurses are charged with the delicate, emotional care of the hospital’s tiniest and youngest patients and their families. It is an unique calling few nurses are chosen to fulfill.

This can be due to lack of labor room nurses knowledge about the benefits of skin to skin contact. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the current knowledge level of labor room nurses about skin to skin contact. The problem statement is: what is the perception of labor room nurses towards skin to skin contact between mother and the newborn? The research questions are (1) what do labor room nurses know about skin to skin contact?, (2) what are the factors labor room nurses identify as barriers to implementation of skin to skin contact, (3) what are the factors labor room nurses identify as facilitators to implementation of skin to skin

The effects of stimulation on infant development cannot be understated. The more research that has gone into the importance of this the more emphasis is placed on attempting to correct sensory deprivation. In hospital NICUs we see more interaction with children that are born premature. We are also seeing a greater emphasis on placing orphaned children into homes where they can benefit from direct caregiver contact and have a more stimulating environment to explore. Now, more than in the past, we see the need

To the general public, play is viewed as a nonchalant activity that children engage in to preoccupy their time. However, occupational therapists view play as the fundamental occupation that introduces a child to the world around them. According to Fazio, 2008, “Play is important because it is an effective way to develop other functions, such as sensory integrative, motor, social, cognitive, self-care, or work skills” (as cited in Parham, 1996). In class, we watched a video and observed a thirteen-month-old boy, named Noah. He was examined by Jacqui in what seemed to be a playroom in his home along with a few of his siblings present. Because play is Noah’s primary occupation, the setting seemed to be a conducive environment for

Play is the foundation stone of children’s healthy and productive lives (Oliver & Klugman, 2002) and is also a significant means of child’s learning and development (Zigler, Singer & Bishop-

Evidence has even suggested that skin-to-skin contact between a mother a newborn child is the best way to provide comfort and changes the discomforting environment into one that is profoundly comforting (Ludington, 2015). This contact between mother and child can help in the infant’s physiologic realm, stress reduction of the infant, enhance the early maternal-infant bonding after a cesarean delivery, and improve the outcome of an opioid dependent infant.

When you think of play you don’t really think about or realize how important it really is in a child’s life. It consists of five elements, and these elements are the make-up and the meaning of play. The first element is that it is pleasurable and enjoyable. This means it must be fun! In order for it to be considered play, there must be a fun and enjoyable element to it. Play also has no extrinsic goal which means it is engaged for

Unstructured play is defined as the type of play that has no clear directions specified for children and no plans of action demanded. This form of play enables children to be themselves through play and expression. Compared to structured play, unstructured play does not mean that children cannot or will not play with others. It is solely the child decision to whom they want involved. When performing play, children often have game partners, siblings, parents or any relative that is willing to play with them. Play that is unstructured for a child includes no motive (reasoning) and learning standards so that the child would be able to expressive and explore themselves. Unstructured play is one of the various strategies healthcare professions use. Child life specialists, nurses and doctors apply these techniques in facilitate preparing children for medical procedures.