You Can Volunteer To Help Drug-Addicted Babies Heal By Cuddling Them
There are a few things that we want out of life and one of them is to be happy in what we are doing. This isn’t only true in our personal life but it is also true in our secular work as well. In fact, when we choose a career, we do so with the intent of providing for ourselves and our family but we also want to make sure that it is as rewarding as possible. Some people are able to land such a job the first time out and others chase that dream for their entire life.
If you are looking for some fulfillment in your career, perhaps it is time for you to consider switching to a new career. The job that is now on the table doesn’t pay much in the form of money. In fact, it is a volunteer job. That being said, it is perhaps the most rewarding job out there. Your task would be to snuggle babies who are born addicted to drugs because it is a very healthy part of the healing process. Unfortunately, this job is in high demand and as more infants suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome, it becomes even more necessary.
The babies that you would be snuggling are exposed to drugs while they are still in the womb. It requires a significant amount of care to get through the withdrawal process successfully. In order to be a professional cuddler, you have to be specifically trained because it is such an important part of their survival.
The centers for disease control and prevention report that the incidence of NAS has increased by 383% since the year 2000 in the United States. In other words, there are a whole lot more babies that need this service.
Cuddle care programs are being established in various areas across the country. The primary purpose is to help babies that are addicted at birth to opiates. The nursing staff helps a lot and the volunteers add some hope to a situation that would otherwise be hopeless.
Jane Cavanaugh is a nurse in Pennsylvania who realized that the drug abuse rates were climbing in her state. She started a volunteer program at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in order to assist with the problem.
“These babies going through withdrawal need to be held for extended periods,” she said. “They need human touch.”
Maribeth McLaughlin agrees with what is being done. She is the chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh.
Maribeth oversees cuddle volunteers who soothe and snuggle babies that are at risk and are not capable of soothing themselves.
The results are coming in and it seems as if it is working nicely. When a baby going through withdrawal is held regularly, they are able to go home faster and they typically need less medication.
“[Cuddling] is helping them manage through these symptoms,” she told Today.com. “They are very irritable; they are hard to console. This is about swaddling them and giving them that comfort and safe, secure feeling.”
You can learn more in this video:
It wasn’t all that long ago that some parents were under the impression that holding your baby too much could be harmful. New research now shows that there is no such thing as too much when it comes to holding a newborn child.
The babies development relies on the touch that is given by parents and others. In fact, the latest research indicates that it is crucial for the brain development of the baby. If a baby is going through opiate withdrawal, the benefits are even more substantial.
Kangaroo care, which is skin to skin contact between parents and their newborn is now a common practice in many hospitals throughout the country.
This video shows an “ICU Grandpa” who volunteers to cuddle babies when parents or hospital staff is unable to do so:
The babies that you would be snuggling are exposed to drugs while they are still in the womb. It requires a significant amount of care to get through the withdrawal process successfully. In order to be a professional cuddler, you have to be specifically trained because it is such an important part of their survival.
The centers for disease control and prevention report that the incidence of NAS has increased by 383% since the year 2000 in the United States. In other words, there are a whole lot more babies that need this service.
“These babies going through withdrawal need to be held for extended periods,” she said. “They need human touch.”
Maribeth McLaughlin agrees with what is being done. She is the chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh.
Maribeth oversees cuddle volunteers who soothe and snuggle babies that are at risk and are not capable of soothing themselves.
The results are coming in and it seems as if it is working nicely. When a baby going through withdrawal is held regularly, they are able to go home faster and they typically need less medication.
“[Cuddling] is helping them manage through these symptoms,” she told Today.com. “They are very irritable; they are hard to console. This is about swaddling them and giving them that comfort and safe, secure feeling.”
You can learn more in this video:
It wasn’t all that long ago that some parents were under the impression that holding your baby too much could be harmful. New research now shows that there is no such thing as too much when it comes to holding a newborn child.
The babies development relies on the touch that is given by parents and others. In fact, the latest research indicates that it is crucial for the brain development of the baby. If a baby is going through opiate withdrawal, the benefits are even more substantial.
Kangaroo care, which is skin to skin contact between parents and their newborn is now a common practice in many hospitals throughout the country.
This video shows an “ICU Grandpa” who volunteers to cuddle babies when parents or hospital staff is unable to do so: