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Parents hold premature twins in groundbreaking 'skincubator'
Texas parents were able to hold their premature twins for the first time thanks to a revolutionary new device dubbed the "skincubator."
A Texas father is the first in the nation to hold his premature baby skin-to-skin using a wearable incubator.
Dorian and Dr. Tiffany Ojemen welcomed their twins at 26 weeks gestation, and for the first two weeks they could only touch their babies through the openings of the incubators.
Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is the first to have a device called the "skincubator" and is testing it as part of a clinical trial.
Tiffany Ojemen is an OB/GYN who gave birth to twins Silas and Simone at 26 weeks gestation. For the first two weeks, she and her husband, Dorian, could only touch their babies through the holes in the incubators. But thanks to a clinical trial Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital is participating in, they were able to hold their babies without removing them from their incubators.
Premature babies often require time in incubators, which controls temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels with the goal of recreating a safe womb environment. This allows preemies to continue growing and developing safely. And because their vital organs are often not fully developed, premature babies typically must remain in an incubator until they are able to maintain a stable temperature on their own, have stable oxygen levels, and reach a safe weight.
This, however, means both parents and baby miss out on crucial bonding time, which is where the skincubator comes in.
The skincubator is a wearable incubator, which keeps premature babies safe in an incubator environment, while also allowing parents to hold their preemies and have skin-to-skin contact. This is helpful for more than just bonding; as the hospital explained in its press release:
Skin-to-skin care in the early days of an infant’s life is known to help stabilize their heart rate, breathing pattern, encourage growth, relieve pain, and support healthy sleep and brain development. It also helps regulate the nervous systems of both baby and mother, supporting breastfeeding and emotional bonding.
And when Dorian had the opportunity to have that bonding time with his twins, he took it, making him the first father to use the skincubator. His wife soon followed.
“I was just very nervous because they’re very small and I was scared to do skin-to-skin because I just didn’t know how vulnerable they would be,” he said. “So when I heard there’s an easy way to have them close to me, I was, like, excited about the opportunity.”
Tiffany added that the skincubator was able to reassure them and make them feel like it was safe to hold their babies.
“Before the Skincubator, we actually didn’t really hold the babies too much because they were intubated, so it was kind of difficult to get into that process, and they were also really small," she said. "It really made us comfortable with having that connection.”
Jaclyn Ruggiero, a neonatal-perinatal medicine physician at Children’s Memorial Hermann who is overseeing the Skincubator trial, said the device gives parents confidence, and helps babies as well.
“A baby who is receiving this touch essentially is having the sense of safety activated to all of these systems from their parents’ actual skin contact, and so it helps to stabilize the normal physiology of organ systems,” she said. “It’s not just cute cuddling or holding. It’s actually a stabilizer for the central nervous system, and for all the systems that the central nervous system is in contact with.”
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·Parents hold premature twins in groundbreaking 'skincubator'
Texas parents were able to hold their premature twins for the first time thanks to a revolutionary new device dubbed the "skincubator."
A Texas father is the first in the nation to hold his premature baby skin-to-skin using a wearable incubator.
Dorian and Dr. Tiffany Ojemen welcomed their twins at 26 weeks gestation, and for the first two weeks they could only touch their babies through the openings of the incubators.
Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is the first to have a device called the "skincubator" and is testing it as part of a clinical trial.
Tiffany Ojemen is an OB/GYN who gave birth to twins Silas and Simone at 26 weeks gestation. For the first two weeks, she and her husband, Dorian, could only touch their babies through the holes in the incubators. But thanks to a clinical trial Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital is participating in, they were able to hold their babies without removing them from their incubators.
Premature babies often require time in incubators, which controls temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels with the goal of recreating a safe womb environment. This allows preemies to continue growing and developing safely. And because their vital organs are often not fully developed, premature babies typically must remain in an incubator until they are able to maintain a stable temperature on their own, have stable oxygen levels, and reach a safe weight.
This, however, means both parents and baby miss out on crucial bonding time, which is where the skincubator comes in.
The skincubator is a wearable incubator, which keeps premature babies safe in an incubator environment, while also allowing parents to hold their preemies and have skin-to-skin contact. This is helpful for more than just bonding; as the hospital explained in its press release:
Skin-to-skin care in the early days of an infant’s life is known to help stabilize their heart rate, breathing pattern, encourage growth, relieve pain, and support healthy sleep and brain development. It also helps regulate the nervous systems of both baby and mother, supporting breastfeeding and emotional bonding.
And when Dorian had the opportunity to have that bonding time with his twins, he took it, making him the first father to use the skincubator. His wife soon followed.
“I was just very nervous because they’re very small and I was scared to do skin-to-skin because I just didn’t know how vulnerable they would be,” he said. “So when I heard there’s an easy way to have them close to me, I was, like, excited about the opportunity.”
Tiffany added that the skincubator was able to reassure them and make them feel like it was safe to hold their babies.
“Before the Skincubator, we actually didn’t really hold the babies too much because they were intubated, so it was kind of difficult to get into that process, and they were also really small," she said. "It really made us comfortable with having that connection.”
Jaclyn Ruggiero, a neonatal-perinatal medicine physician at Children’s Memorial Hermann who is overseeing the Skincubator trial, said the device gives parents confidence, and helps babies as well.
“A baby who is receiving this touch essentially is having the sense of safety activated to all of these systems from their parents’ actual skin contact, and so it helps to stabilize the normal physiology of organ systems,” she said. “It’s not just cute cuddling or holding. It’s actually a stabilizer for the central nervous system, and for all the systems that the central nervous system is in contact with.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Angeline Tan
·Human Interest
Angeline Tan
·Human Interest
Right to Life UK
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·Guest Column
Ashley Murphy
·Human Interest
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Abortion Pill
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·A Houston dad made history as the first father in Texas to hold his premature baby skin-to-skin using a groundbreaking wearable incubator called a ‘Skincubator,’ according to hospital officials. The device allows critically fragile newborns to remain connected to essential Show more
