The human touch can be lifesaving to a newborn baby. It’s both relaxing and comforting for the baby and the baby cuddler. Whether the baby is born premature, addicted to opioids, or has a health condition requiring an extended stay in the hospital, baby cuddlers can fill in when the parents can’t be there.
How Can Baby Cuddlers Help?
Skin-to-skin contact, also known as kangaroo care (KC), helps a newborn relax and supports their physical, emotional and social growth. A study originally completed in 1996 and then again in 1998 resulted in the following:
Babies who received 60 minutes of cuddling for 14 days showed better sleep habits, focus and stress management skills compared to babies who did not receive kangaroo care. All babies were reevaluated at 3 & 6 months old, one & two years old, and 5 & 10 years old, and all results were consistent with original findings.
Local Hospitals with a Baby Cuddling Volunteer Program
- Children’s Specialized Hospital (Mountainside, Toms River & New Brunswick facilities)
- Valley Health System
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
Benefits to the Baby Cuddler
The beautiful side of being a volunteer baby cuddler is that you are able to provide the comfort and care to the at-risk newborns when their parents aren’t able to be around. As you can imagine, when babies are required to stay in the hospital for longer than a month, it becomes very difficult on the parents to balance their time between the hospital, work and taking care of themselves.