By Matthew Sims
Diana’s mind was racing when she learnt her newborn son Dean was rapidly losing weight due to feeding issues as a result of a tongue-tie.
Born on August 18 last year, Dean was admitted to Casey Hospital Special Care Nursery, a purpose-built 20 bed unit featuring state of the art equipment for sick or premature babies.
Each year, the nursery provides care to more than 750 unwell babies, with families travelling from as far as Gippsland or Phillip Island.
Sometimes, these sick babies require prolonged stays in the special care nursery of up to 60 days, and the toll constant travel takes on parents from a financial, emotional and physical perspective can be enormous.
The Monash Health Foundation has launched an appeal to help fund new recliner sofa beds for the nursery.
The beds, which cost $4695, allow carers to sit and sleep cot side, ensuring the most beneficial special care stay for both baby and carer.
Currently, the Casey Hospital Special Care Nursery only has access to three recliner beds, with hopes to increase the amount of beds dramatically so that every single baby admitted to the nursery can have their carer cot side for the duration of their stay.
Diana said she was grateful for being able to stay by her son’s side throughout his journey.
“I can’t thank the team at Monash Health enough for their compassion, care and ongoing support,“ she said.
“It was so important for me to build my confidence as a new mum, and to have the ongoing assistance of the speech pathologist, nurses and dieticians who all worked closely together to ensure Dean became stronger every day.
“For me to be able to be there with my baby as he slowly gained weight and improved meant the world.
“I am certain it made a positive impact on Dean’s health.“
Throughout his stay, Dean steadily gained weight, and Diana was able to learn different feeding and care techniques and bond with her baby.
“It was a lot to process, I was trying to wrap my head around what it meant for him to have a tongue-tie, how it was to be treated and all the other emotions that come with having an unwell baby,” she said.
“Fortunately, the nurses at Monash Newborn, Casey Special Care Nursery assured me I wouldn’t have to leave Dean, and I was able to stay with him in the nursery throughout his admission.
“This made me feel more at ease, like I had a bit more control over what was happening.”
Baby Dean has been able to return home with his family, and they are looking forward to establishing their routine in the comfort of their own surroundings.
He is undergoing regular checks with his Maternal and Child Health Nurse, alongside ongoing appointments with the specialist care team at Monash to ensure he is hitting his developmental milestones.
Evidence indicates prolonged or repeated physical separation between parents and their newborns alters brain development and can impair critical bonding and attachment between the baby and their caregiver.
The benefits of keeping babies close to their carers include improved breast milk supply, the ability to be more involved in their child’s care, improved physical and emotional connection between baby and carer and lower stress levels.
To donate to the appeal, visit monashhealthfoundation.org/2023-festive-appeal-donate
