Once upon a time – or, more precisely, earlier this September – the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Tammany Parish Hospital entered a worldwide Read-A-Thon to promote reading to NICU babies.
So they read and they read and they read, read, read, read. They read funny books. They read sweet books. They read sleepytime books. They read all kinds of books.
Then, last week – in the happiest kind of happily-ever-afters – they learned from Read-A-Thon organizer Babies with Books that they had read more books to more babies than nearly every hospital in the world.
Of 249 NICUs participating, the bookworms at St. Tammany placed 28th worldwide.
“It wasn’t just our NICU team, either,” St. Tammany Health System NICU Director Suzanne Fraiche said. “They engaged the community to donate books, and they engaged our NICU families to help read to our NICU babies – all of which demonstrates the dedication, compassion and engagement of our entire team and the excellent patient-family centered and evidence-based care they provide every day.”
The STHS NICU’s efforts – themed to Disney’s “The Jungle Book” – were organized by Administrative Assistant Mallory Carbo and RN Jody Brandt, both of whom also spearheaded the decorations adorning the unit throughout the Read-A-Thon.
A collection of the books donated to the cause will remain in the NICU as part of a newborn library. Others were gifted to NICU families to take home with the hope they will continue to foster a love of reading in their NICU babies.
As heartwarming as it all is, it’s about more than warm-and-fuzzies. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, reading to babies promotes brain development by creating and strengthening neural connections that build language, literacy and social emotional skills at a critical time in a child’s development.
Reading to NICU babies also provides meaningful bonding opportunities for families. This is especially true for babies experiencing prolonged hospitalizations, those at high risk of poor neurodevelopment outcomes, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged families.
“This story isn’t over,” Fraiche said. “I have a feeling our STHS NICU team will do it again next September – with a goal of finishing even higher! To be continued …”