MUM FIRST, NURSE SECOND 

Kate Brown is the General Manager of the Women’s, Children’s and Birthing Unit at Latrobe Regional Hospital. As a midwife, Kate has seen how the Humpty Dumpty Foundation has made a difference to the care of newborns and their families. 

When you're pregnant for the first time, it's common to feel a bit anxious or frightened. You want everything to go well and for your child to be born healthy. Babies born prematurely or unwell will often need to be admitted to a Special Care Nursery for treatment. Unfortunately, this means baby is separated from mum which can be a very distressing experience for the family. Latrobe Regional Hospital, in the Gippsland region east of Melbourne, has been supported by the Humpty Dumpty Foundation for several years. 

Access to the most up-to-date medical equipment ensures our team is able to provide the best possible care. Importantly, some of the equipment we’ve received helps us keep unwell and premature babies with their mums, rather than transfer the baby for specialised care elsewhere. One of our success stories is baby Beau whose mum Halee is a nurse. Halee is also a first time mum who went into labour at home, four weeks and one day early. For a premature baby born at 35 weeks, you might expect some challenges straight away but at birth Beau had no problems. 

Over the next day, Beau developed jaundice and had issues feeding. Jaundice, detected as a yellowing of the skin and eyes, occurs in around half of all full-term babies but for pre-term babies may jump to 80% in their first week of life. Without prompt treatment, jaundice can cause cerebral palsy, deafness and even brain damage. The anxiety and stress for a new mum in this situation is immense. 

The care team considered admitting Beau to the special care nursery for phototherapy treatment. To be separated from your premature baby is a heartbreaking thought but fortunately the Thomson Unit has special equipment to treat jaundice donated by Humpty, and this meant Halee could keep Beau in her room while he received treatment over the next 24 hours.

The Bilisoft LED Phototherapy System uses phototherapy (exposure to fluorescent light or other light sources) to treat jaundice and is like a blanket for the baby. It enables parents to hold or feed their child without disturbing treatment. 

“I thought this was amazing, as I was very distressed over the idea of being separated from my first baby,” Halee said. “The Bilisoft brought his jaundice levels down and if the hospital didn’t have this equipment Beau would have been taken from me for at least 24 hours when he was only a day old.”

Coming home from hospital with a newborn is another exciting but also daunting time, especially for first-time mums who don’t always know what to expect. However, 12 weeks later, Halee and Beau found themselves back in hospital. 

“The hospital was concerned about Beau’s breathing and decided to admit us to the paediatric ward for observation. He developed fevers the first day and then very low temperatures the next. Babies can often have issues regulating their own temperatures when unwell. Beau, at one stage, had a temp of only 34 degrees. We made the decision to use the Cosytherm to help keep him warm while he recovered. The Cosytherm was so handy as he just lay on top of it in the bassinet and I could lift him out easily to settle or to feed him.”

The Cosytherm System is another vital donation from the Humpty Dumpty Foundation and allows infants in our care to be kept warm and comfortable. It avoids the need to place the baby in an incubator. Without the Bilisoft and the Cosytherm, Beau would have been separated from Halee on both occasions but thanks to Humpty, this didn’t happen. 

“Having access to equipment that kept Beau with me helped him recover quickly, supported our breastfeeding journey and kept us together while he was unwell so we could bond, and I could give him comfort,” Halee said.

The impact Humpty has on regional hospitals such as Latrobe Regional Hospital is immeasurable. We will soon complete a $217 million expansion of our hospital which includes a larger maternity, special care nursery and paediatric unit. There is a huge demand for specialised services in country areas and the support of Humpty will ensure we are able to provide women and children with high level care so they won’t have to travel to Melbourne.