A little HOPE for premmies’ mums and dads

Mater Mothers’ Hospital is using World Breastfeeding Week to shine a spotlight on a new program that gives parents the skills they need to take their premature babies home sooner, and with additional support.

The HOPE program (Home for Our Patients Earlier) is an early discharge program for Special Care Nursery patients, aimed at teaching parents how to look after feeding tubes for their premature babies who are transitioning to go home.

Mater Mothers’ Neonatal Transfers and Discharges Clinical Services Coordinator Beth Thomas said the program helped babies establish oral feeding, and helped sustain and improve breastfeeding practices for patients in the Special Care Nursery.

Ms Thomas said the program enabled parents to bond with their baby at home and integrate them into family life while safely shortening their hospital stay.

“Parents are taught how to manage and feed their baby via a gastric tube while they are working towards taking all of their feeds from the breast or bottle,” she said.

Families who meet the criteria undergo special training to manage tube feeds for their baby at home.

“A designated HOPE Nurse will work with the family to ensure they are prepared for discharge and support their ongoing journey through daily telehealth consults and home visits,” she said.

Ms Thomas said the HOPE Program aims to decrease time in hospital, lessening the risk of acquiring hospital associated infections and reducing the financial burden on families visiting the SCN daily.

Fortitude Valley mum and midwife Kristen Meadows said participating in the HOPE program was a “blessing” after her twins Ivy and Ella were born 13 weeks early in April.

Ms Meadows said the HOPE Program nurses taught her everything she needed to know about caring for Ella and Ivy – allowing her to bring them home at 37 weeks instead of the more common 40-week mark.

“Both the girls came home with feeding tubes, which was so liberating because my partner and I knew we could care for them in the comfort of our own home with no monitors beeping away,” Ms Meadows said.

“For us to be home and together as a family was very beneficial and made things easier.

“The lactation consultants really helped by teaching me techniques to assist the girls with breastfeeds once their tubes came out – we always had reassurance and guidance.”

Mater Mothers’ Acting Director of Neonatology Dr Luke Jardine said: “Having a premature baby in hospital for a long time can place an enormous strain on families and relationships, so anything we can do to see those families together at home sooner, is a real bonus.”