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MURRAY — There is little that is more difficult for a new mom than to have to leave her baby in the hospital because it was born prematurely. But there is help for those who have a preemie.
As part of an Intermountain Medical Center volunteer program, parents who have been there themselves are helping new parents deal with the stress and challenges of a preemie birth.
Takuilau Vaiomounga's little daughter was born three months early and is finally close to going home. "To me it is nerve wracking," Vaiomounga said. "She is the first person in our family, and it's kind of scary to take care of someone so little and with her immune system so weak.
In addition to doctors and nurses in the Newborn ICU at Intermountain Medical Center, new parents survive the ordeal of having a baby in the hospital for months with help from parent volunteers.
"The only thing she needs to work on is the bottle feeding and the apnea, because she has apnea pretty bad," Vaiomounga said.
Parent volunteer Naomi Oberg has a good idea what it is like for new parents of a preemie baby. Her son was born weighing just 1 pound.
"It's definitely rewarding, and the people you meet are just outstanding people. It's a very tight community with volunteers in the NICU," Oberg said. "You can be the support and have them cry on your shoulder."
All of the volunteers were once the parents of a premature baby. "To actually find people that could know what we were going through — and not only sympathize, but who have been there and help us get through it — my husband and I felt like there was no way we couldn't give back," parent volunteer Jannell Webb said.
Each week, there are meetings for new parents where they learn how to care for their baby. The parent volunteers are invaluable to the hospital staff.
"The information the parents get from them is so incredibly valuable because they ‘get it,' they understand. And I'm educated in development, and I'm educated in how to give information about development, but I haven't been there. I don't know what it is all about," said physical therapist Dana Denton.
Leslie Webb's son Griffen was 10 weeks early and weighed 3 pounds. She says the parent volunteers have made all the difference for her since she delivered two months ago.
"You are not alone. You're not the only person who has been through it, and so it has been very helpful to go and talk with them and mingle and cry and laugh," Webb said.
The program provides a chance for parents to help parents during a difficult and uncertain time. Similar parent support groups are available at other hospitals in Utah that are equipped with full-service newborn ICUs.
Email: spenrod@ksl.com
