Preemie Prints Information Blog: May 28th, Houston Kickoff Meeting at RMH

May 28th was our official kickoff for our Houston chapter! It was a great success and we want to send a big thank you to everyone involved. The meeting kicked off at 12:00 at The Ronald McDonald House in Houston. The venue could not have been more perfect for our needs. We greatly appreciate our wonderful hosts and look forward to our future meetings here. There was plenty of room, and we utilized both the boardroom table, for lunch, which was donated by our sponsors at Chili's and the living room area for our group discussion/presentation by Yamile Jackson, PHD and creator of the Zaky.

Gift bags handed out to current NICU moms

Amber Collier (Founder), Yamile Jackson (PHD, Creator of The Zaky),
Allison Weaver (Assistant Director Houston)

After meeting past and present moms, sharing stories, and connecting we enjoyed lunch. Then Yamile started her discussion on the benefits of Kangaroo Care and the story about the development of the Zaky (pictured below). The Zaky is a revolutionary product in the world of premature birth and we were so happy to host Yamile and have her share much needed information. Preemie Prints now has a goal to start purchasing and including a Zaky in every gift bag that goes out to current NICU moms. We feel every preemie needs to have one and we want to help to make that a reality. Your donations to Preemie Prints will begin going toward this goal. We want our first purchase of Zaky's to be a quantity of 25.

This goal will cost Preemie Prints $900 and will benefit 25 premature babies. We need your donation to make this a reality. Even $2.00 will help us reach our goal in no time!

The reason we feel this is THE MOST important item to include in our bag is because it will be the ONLY item in the bag actually for the preemie and will make a positive change in his/her life. Here is what the Zaky is proven to do for preemies and why it is now part of our mission.

"The Zaky imitates the look, feel, weight, and warmth of the parents' hand and forearm. It assures proper positioning, helps with pain management and sleep, provides a sense of protection, and assists with the physical and psychological development of the child. There is also a new study coming out very soon that shows 0 apnea episodes while using the Zaky for a certain period of time when compared with not using anything and using another comparative product. It is used in over 300 NICUs worldwide and with healthy and special needs children."

In addition to talking about the Zaky we also discussed the benefits of Kangaroo Mother Care. We all learned so much and will be able to share our insight with the future current moms who attend our meeting. A few key points as to the benefits...

For the babies KMC provides:

Containment & Safe boundaries

Maximizes skin-to-skin contact

It is safe, comfortable, and easy to use

Stabilizes the baby's heart rate

Improves breathing pattern & oxygen saturation levels

Decreases Apnea

Provides a natural source of steady body temperature

Decreases crying and improves sleep time

Promotes more rapid weight gain

Fosters more successful breastfeeding episodes

Assists earlier hospital discharge

For the parents KMC and the Kangaroo Zak (pictured below)

Ensures bonding with baby

Provides privacy while holding

Facilitates holding your baby longer, more comfortably, and hands-free

Minimizes anxiety regarding the risk of dropping your baby while Kangarooing for long periods

Helps you rest while holding

Increases confidence in your ability to care for baby (aids in developmental care in the NICU)

Increases your involvement and sense of control

Increases mothers milk supply

When you Kangaroo Care you should NEVER do it less than 1 hour so your baby can achieve one full sleep cycle and grow. If done for less than 1 hour it is not beneficial to the baby.

TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT MEETING IN HOUSTON PLEASE REGISTER HERE

IF YOU ARE CLOSER TO BRYAN COLLEGE STATION OR TEMPLE PLEASE JOIN US FOR LOCAL MEETINGS IN YOUR AREA BY REGISTERING HERE

Here is a short video from a recent episode of The Doctors, where a neonatologist from Texas Children's is advocating for the use of Kangaroo Care and showing how it is done with the Zak Sack.