Dear colleagues,



I have both a personal and professional interest in NICU support groups so I’m glad to see this topic come up here. From my personal experience (my third and fourth children, now 27 and 21, were born into NICUs), I’d like to suggest that care of and attention to older siblings be added to the NICU support curricula. Like the adults around them, they care deeply about their (very) little siblings, they want both to understand and to help at a level appropriate to them. Also like the adults, the NICU experience and environment can be confusing and frightening. There are materials for parents about siblings of premature babies but not a lot of materials for the kids themselves.



A couple of years ago I had a great opportunity to combine my personal experience and my professional knowledge and write a children’s story about the importance of breastmilk and milk donation for premature babies. It’s called Rich and Creamy for Our Preemie<https://platypusmedia.com/RichandCreamy> (available in English and Spanish). Another book by the same publisher Come Home Soon Baby Brother / Sister<https://www.platypusmedia.com/chsbb-series>, written Debi Iarussi, RN, IBCLC, explains what the NICU does and what siblings can do to help.



These books help older siblings understand what is happening to the new baby and more importantly how important and loved they are during this difficult time for the whole family. The coloring book format engages kids in the story and makes it their own. They also have resource listings for NICU families. I wish these had been around when my children were experiencing the NICU, and I hope the books will help other families who find themselves in the same situation.



If you’d like to check them out for your NICU support programs, you can get sample review copies from the publisher. Email [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.



I hope these can be useful. I’d love to hear any feedback, and how you use them,



- Naomi



Begin forwarded message:





Date:    Sat, 23 Sep 2017 01:55:51 -0400

From:    Mary Collins <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>

Subject: Re: NICU support group curriculum



Lisa,



I second the names that Pat Young mentioned.  When I was our NICU LC our NICU Dietician, March of Dimes Coordinator and I teamed up and presented different topics for our NICU Support Group.  Some of the topics included basic breastfeeding issues: engorgement, sore nipples, pump mechanics (i.e., suction strength, if flange size needed to change), maternal nutrition, kangaroo care, infant nutrition as related to growth, what to expect during your NICU stay.  We also incorporated steps to breastfeeding and bottle feeding in the NICU.  These were just a few of the topics we incorporated.  Hope this helps.

Mary Beth Collins



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Naomi Bar-Yam Ph.D.

Executive Director

Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast



President

Human Milk Banking Association of North America



[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

office: 617-527-6263

direct line: 617-340-3600

www.milkbankne.org

www.facebook.com/mmbne<http://www.facebook.com/mmbne>

@MMBNorthEast

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