ABOUT THIS SESSION:
Finding your strength as a NICU parent: Grit, Resilience & Determination
As a new NICU mom to 25 weeker triplets, I felt anything but empowered. I felt helpless, fraught with guilt, and completely alone. Every dream I ever had about building and having a family of my own was erased the instant my 1-pound daughters were delivered. I was not a mother; I was a mere bystander as my babies fought for every breath. That is until I was matched with a mom who had been where I was. A peer mentor trained me to listen and guide me into my new role as a NICU mom. Kara planted the seeds of hope inside my soul that grew bit by bit over the months. Kara and the NICU Parent Support Organization she volunteered with helped me become the empowered advocate and, most importantly, the mother my girls needed.
Tremendous grit, resilience, and determination lie within each NICU parent. I know…I’ve seen it, and I’ve lived it. In the darkest moments of your experience, it cannot be easy to find on your own. Through the unique and knowledgeable peer support provided by NICU Parent Support Organizations, every NICU parent can access these core characteristics to ensure you not only survive the NICU but thrive well past discharge.
In this session, we will spend some time:
- Understanding and normalizing what you may be feeling as a NICU parent.
- Share the many NICU parent support resources available to you.
- Hear from members of the NICU Parent Network to learn how you can access these resources yourself, no matter where you live or what you need.
We believe in family-integrated care that is developmentally appropriate and supportive.
We believe that all NICU parents and babies deserve access to the individualized support and resources they need to thrive well beyond leaving the hospital.
And we believe that NICU parents are the most important part of their baby’s care team.
To support these beliefs, NPN has developed the NICU Baby’s Bill of Rights that seeks to inform and empower clinicians to encourage and facilitate bonding between NICU parents and their babies.
2) My NICU Network Staff Education
We believe that strengthening the parent-baby bond and family functioning in the NICU is the “next big frontier” in improving infant outcomes and that supporting NICU parents is equally important to providing medical care to their baby. Created by professionals and experts by experience with quotes from over 100 NICU graduate parents, “Caring for Babies and Their Families: Providing Psychosocial Support in the NICU,” is a 7-module online continuing education series. CEUs are available.
3) NICU Parent Network member directory
Search the NICU Parent Network member directory to find support services and resources for your families. Many organizations have virtual offerings suitable for any NICU family no matter their location
NICU parent organizations that were featured:
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After giving birth to triplets at just 25 weeks 5 days gestation and losing one of her daughters at 14 months old, Keira was propelled into maternal-infant health out of an unshakeable desire to ensure no parent experiences the trauma of preterm birth or loss alone.
Together, with a dedicated team of NICU Parent Leaders, Keira has grown the NICU Parent Network (NPN) to be a sought-after resource and collaborative partner for providers, researchers, industry, and other stakeholders in this niche of healthcare.
Parents are the key stakeholders and the key informants in maternal-infant health. Nowhere else in healthcare is this more important than in matters related to neonates, a patient population that cannot speak for itself.
Keira is passionate about strengthening the NICU Parent Leader community so that every aspect of maternal-infant health will be improved through informing product development, research protocols, standards of care, and educating families, communities, and providers resulting in families who thrive.
Ms. Sorrells’ commitment to authentic leadership and collaboration has successfully brought over 40 NICU support organization leaders together as they have collectively established a unified representation for NICU parents everywhere.
As Founder and Executive Director of the NICU Parent Network and her education in Family & Consumer Sciences, Keira Sorrells has been leading the movement to elevate the NICU Parent Leader as a professional in maternal-infant health.
ABOUT NICU PARENT NETWORK
We are a collaborative of over 40 NICU Support Organizations across the US, UK, and Australia. This session's moderator, Yamile Jackson, founder of Nurtured by Design, is a proud and active member of NPN.
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In Touch With Experts: LIVE is presented by:
ABOUT KANGAROO CARE DAY: The International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day is an initiative founded by Yamile Jackson, Ph.D., PE, PMP on behalf of her son, Zachary, to improve the care of families through nurturing touch, kangaroo care, mental health, trauma-informed care, and education. It is now celebrated in hospitals globally on May 15th since 2011. Visit www.kangaroo.care. She also founded Nurtured by Design and engineered The Zaky®