‘Kangaroo cuddles’ help save tot born at 31 weeks
A MOTHER’S cuddles helped save the life of premature baby Aeda Stebbing.
She was born at 31 weeks, weighing just 2lb 10oz, on February 5 after managing to tie a knot in her umbilical cord while in the womb.
She could fit in the palm of her dad’s hand.
But as specialists rushed to stabilise her, when she was placed on mum Nikki’s chest, her heart rate and oxygen levels began to regulate.
Although she was then whisked away to a neonatal care unit, Nikki spent hours every day sitting with her daughter snuggled on her chest, in a treatment known as “kangaroo care”, because it is similar to a baby joey in its mother’s pouch.
The skin-to-skin contact is proven to help premature babies regulate their heart rates as they are close to mum’s heartbeat, and the closeness helps the mother produce breast milk tailored to the baby’s needs.
Nurses at Great Western Hospital, Swindon, were astonished at how quickly little Aeda progressed, and after just 27 days she was strong enough to return home, despite it still being five weeks before her due date.
Now Aeda is going from strength to strength, weighing in at 6lb 3oz, and being doted on by siblings Bryanna, 15, Jessica, 14, and Oliver, 10.
Nikki, 37, from Swindon, said: “Aeda gave us quite the scare, but we just can’t believe what a little fighter she is. Knowing that cuddles with us helped her to grow strong and survive is a really special feeling.
“She was down my T-shirt every single day, and seeing her get stronger and stronger was really incredible.”
Nikki’s pregnancy had been progressing normally until a midwife noticed her bump was small during a 28-week check-up.
She was sent for an extra scan, where doctors discovered that Nikki’s placenta was pulsating slowly.
But after Aeda was born, Nikki’s placenta was tested and found to be working well. However, surgeons who delivered Aeda discovered a knot in the umbilical cord – caused usually when the baby is very small.
Nikki said: “When she was delivered it was so surreal. We were waiting with bated breath, and the moment we heard her cry was such a relief. Even then, she sounded so tiny, like a little puppy whimpering.
“I couldn’t wait to scoop her up in my arms. I was allowed a five-minute cuddle and it was so magical.
“The consultant was monitoring her stats and told us her oxygen levels were better while she was on my chest than they had been while the team were working on her. She needed her mum.”
After Nikki had been discharged from hospital, she set up a routine where she and husband Craig, 37, a self-employed grounds worker, would spend as much time as possible holding Aeda.
Nikki said: “I would do the school run in the morning and then go straight to the hospital, and sit holding Aeda until it was time to pick the other children up.
“Every day we saw her getting bigger and stronger. It was a special time. We always called her our little pickle before she was born, but we didn’t expect her to get herself into such a pickle!”
Dr Sarah Bates, the consultant paediatrician and neonatologist who helped to deliver Aeda, said: “The impact of delivery room cuddles and kangaroo care cannot be underestimated for both parents and baby.
“Our research has shown that there are mental and physical benefits for both mum and baby when there is skin-to-skin contact, especially in babies born prematurely.”
‘Every day we saw her getting bigger and stronger. It was a special time’