A premature baby from the Neonatology Unit of the University Hospital Complex of the Canary Islands (HUC) clings tightly to the tentacles of a crochet pulpit hand woven by the NGO Noupops. Some experts believe you are likely to feel safe holding it because it reminds you of the umbilical cord and maternal uterus.
Noupops has been distributing solidarity octopuses to Spanish hospitals for a year, and HUC has been the first hospital in the Canary Islands to receive them. This initiative, which emerged in 2012 in Denmark, begins to spread across several countries, and although Some professionals say it brings benefits to premature babies, others are not in favor of its use, because of the risk they may carry.
An idea that was born in Denmark
In December 2012, a Danish blogger wanted to have a gesture of affection towards the parents of a premature baby and decided to crochet a pulpit to him accompany during your hospital admission.
Very soon, the staff attending the little girl realized that that hand-woven octopus was much more than just a toy, it seemed to calm the stress and anxiety of the girl, who clung tightly to the tentacles as if the umbilical cord were treated. In addition, this gesture prevented the little girl from clinging to the cables and tubes that gave support, greatly reducing the risk of accidents.
And from that idea came the Danish Octo Projet project of Spruttegruppen, which today has been delivered for free more than 28,000 octopuses in various hospitals in Denmark, because they consider that it contributes to the well-being of premature infants admitted to the neonatology units.
Photo via www.facebook.com/noupopss/ Little by little, this initiative began to spread to other countries such as France, Canada or the United Kingdom, where even Dorset's Poole Hospital published a press release highlighting the reassuring power that these pulpits exerted in their hospital's premature babies:
"When we learned of the benefits that a cute octopus can cause in our little babies, we were impressed and, after the investigation, we are eager to be able to present them to all our little ones" - wrote Daniel Lockyer, matron of neonatology at Poole Hospital.
At the end of 2016 the project arrived in Spain and the NGO Noupops "Hilo para la vida" was born, which has become the official representatives of the Danish brand both in our country and in Latin America.
How do these octopuses get to hospitals?
Noupops has a network of solidarity pulperas that weave the pulpits in a totally altruistic way following the guidelines of quality and safety marked by the matrix of Denmark.
They must be woven in 100% cotton thread, use synthetic hypoallergenic fillers and washable at 60 degrees, the extended tentacles can not measure more than 22 cm, and you can not use any accessory such as buttons, eyes, ties ... that can come off and assume a danger to the baby.
Once finished, octopuses are sanitized, bagged and sealed before being delivered free of charge to hospitals by authorized ambassadors, and from there they go to the families of the admitted premature babies.In this year of experience, there are several Spanish hospitals that have Crochet pulpits incorporated into its neonatology units. Noupops collects on its website a selection of these centers, including the San Joan de Deu Hospital in Barcelona, the Tortosa Hospital, the Virgen de la Macarena Hospital in Seville, the General Hospital of Alicante or the recent incorporation of the University Hospital of the Canary Islands.
First, mom's chest
But it is important to note that nothing can ever replace medical care, the human care of health workers who treat premature babies and skin-to-skin contact.
Feeling the warmth of the mother (or failing the father), her breathing, her smell and the heartbeats that have accompanied her during the time she has been in the womb, has countless benefits for all babies, but especially for premature babies.
Being in contact skin to skin not only they will feel safe and calm, but that will help them establish the Breastfeeding (essential for the premature baby), and caresses and words will favor his brain development and improve his mood.
Not all hospitals approve this project
But this solidarity and innovative idea does not seem to unanimously convince all healthcare professionals working in neonatology units.According to this article in the newspaper El Español, Not all hospitals in our country approve the entry of solidarity octopuses into neonatal units. Some healthcare professionals consider that there is no solid evidence of positive effects in prematurity, and that the idea that octopus tentacles remember the umbilical cord is a subjective perception without scientific basis.
Doctor Héctor Boix, a neonatologist at the Vall D'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, is very critical of solidarity octopuses and has said so in his Twitter account. So is Pediatrician José María Lloreda who published an article on his blog with the risks that these crochet toys can pose for the premature baby.
We are not only worried about nosocomial infections, but also false expectations in parents of premature babies who believe in powers 1/2
- Hector Boix (@DrHectorBoix) April 19, 2017
And we must not forget the fragility of premature babies and the risk of infections that may involve the entry of objects to neonatal units:
"Toys placed in the bed or microenvironment of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit demonstrate high colonization rates (92%). Toys can be a potential source of nosocomial infection" - notes this study published in the scientific journal NCBI
A potential source of nosocomial infection in ICUs and Neos. Humanization should not pose risks to patient safety #noalospulpitos
- María Fdez. Prada (@mfprada) April 17, 2017
For her part, Dr. Valencia Walker, a neonatologist at the Santa Monica Medical Center (Los Angeles - United States) and associate professor at the University of California, asks for caution in its use in an article published by CNN, and recommends relying on therapies that have been rigorously studied and tested:
"There are other types of interventions that similarly replicate the feeling of being in the womb. For example, there are mattresses that help premature babies develop muscles, massage techniques that relieve babies and background sounds, such as noise white, that can help calm them "- says this doctor ...
Therefore, and although this idea is loaded with solidarity and desire to helpIt seems that medical professionals do not agree on their use and, as we have seen, there are those who recommend them and who do not. And you, did you know these crochet octopuses designed for premature babies?
Photos Facebook Noupops
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