Separating from a newborn can cause parents of premature babies panic and anxiety as they may have to leave them in hospital while their growth and health is being monitored by doctors.

But some hospitals are now making headway in alleviating the stress for parents, thanks to a secure, digital visual diary service called vCreate that helps parents of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) feel more connected to their babies. The video messaging allows parents to view their infant's progress from the comfort of their homes.

Phiweyo Mposula, the mother of baby Amilenathi Letheo who was born at just 26 weeks weighing 580g, had to separate from her baby due to illness.

The little girl spent  the first 103 days of her life in Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital NICU in the Western Cape.

During this time, Amilenathi was largely separated from both her parents, as her father was unable to be there in person for the duration of this time due to work.

“Looking back, it was such a rollercoaster for our little family. vCreate gave us that extra support we needed, allowing us to witness Amilenathi’s development and to feel a part of it – the first time she opened her eyes, I got to see it in the pictures that were uploaded to vCreate,” said Mposula.

“I would just sit and look at her while expressing milk for her and I would feel a deep sense of connection. It motivated me to be strong for her,” she said.

Baby Amilenathi has now grown to be a strong and healthy baby.

Using the digital diary, nursing staff can share images with parents via the secure platform and personalise them with messages and stickers that uses video and photograph messaging sharing real time visuals with moms and dads.

Liezel Cloete, a midwife by profession, who is also familiar with the importance of close bonding time between parents and newborns, found herself in a similarly difficult position after her baby Laken was born at 26 weeks with a birth weight of 650g.

Laken spent 74 days in the hospital’s NICU.

“In the beginning I struggled to accept what had happened. We had battled to conceive and it had already been such a journey getting to that point. Laken is our first baby and I never imagined that this would be our experience, so when Dr Ricky told me about the visual diaries service it was music to my ears,” she said.

“Receiving those updates and pictures of her gave me a sense of reassurance – it was the next best thing to being there myself. I hope it goes viral because it’s something that every parent should have access to when their little one has to stay in hospital.”

Dr Ricky Dippenaar, a neonatologist practising at Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital, implemented the UK-based vCreate diaries service at the facility in early 2021 as a solution to alleviate some of the emotional strain families feel when separated from their vulnerable little ones

He said the diaries service has proven its value as a communication tool to help minimise separation anxiety for parents and support family centred care.

“There are numerous reasons why parents are not able to remain with their baby in the NICU, such as other children and family members at home who need their care, work commitments and financial constraints, travel challenges for those living far from the hospital, and so on,” he said.

“It became clear that a digital solution would be the safest and most effective – no two people are dealing with the same set of challenges but everyone has a mobile phone. We have found the benefits to be enormous, improving communications and fostering parental relationships, all while protecting private patient information.”

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za