(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A west suburban nurse is trying to help new moms feel a little closer to their newborns.
Stacie Doyle, a labor and delivery nurse at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, noticed a number of moms were separated from their babies at birth due to various medical conditions. This happened to her, too.
“Our C-section moms would deliver and then we would take the babies away while the moms recover,” Doyle said. “Sometimes those moms don't see their babies for 24 hours or more.”
Through a nursing fellowship study, Doyle borrowed a NICVIEW camera system, which lets parents watch a livestream of their newborns from a phone or tablet.
“It hooks to an IV pole, and then the moms get a specific encrypted code password that we give to them. Then they can sign in and have immediate access to the camera viewing of their baby,” she said.
For the last year, the Elgin nurse compared moms who used the camera to those that were temporarily separated from their newborns. She said mothers with camera access produced more breast milk product.
“And then satisfaction. You know, we knew that was probably going to go up, anyway. Those moms and dads were just thrilled to be able to see their baby,” Doyle said.
Just one NICVIEW camera costs around $7,000. Doyle organized a Virtual Family Fun 5K benefiting the hospital’s Family Birthing Center.
Participants can register online for $40 and receive a T-shirt, bib and a medal.
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