The Women’s Center at Spalding Regional Medical Center has received a book cart from the March of Dimes through their NICU Bedside Reading Program. Roughly 1 in 10 newborns wind up in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) because they are born too soon, too small or with a birth defect. The experience can be overwhelming for families.

Under the umbrella of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, the goal of the NICU Bedside Reading Program is to make the journey through newborn intensive care smoother and less traumatic by giving parents the opportunity to bond with their newborn. Spalding Regional Medical Center is excited to be one of 28 hospitals across Georgia to be able to provide this program to our NICU families.

The soothing sound of a parent’s voice is important in establishing the parent-infant relationship. Through the NICU Bedside Reading Program, parents, as well as big brothers and sisters, have the opportunity to read to the baby in the NICU. The NICU Bedside Reading Program enhances the family’s experience in the NICU and promotes crucial bonding within the family.

“A strong patient-infant bond is the most important factor in a good outcome for each baby,” said Christy Taylor, interim Director of Women’s Services at Spalding Regional Medical Center.

“The books will help the parents bond with their new baby. So many times, parents feel helpless when their infant is in our immediate care unit – they can’t pick them up like a healthy newborn. Touching them and reading to them is a comfort to the baby as well as the parents,” adds Audrey Kelley, Nursery Coordinator at Spalding Regional Medical Center.       

Opened in late 2006, the Women’s Center at Spalding Regional Medical Center offers moms-to-be and their families quality care in a comfortable, hotel-like setting. The Women’s Center has a Level 2 Intermediate Care Nursery, dedicated operating rooms for C-section deliveries, private patient suites and much more. The Women’s Center nursing staff has consistently received high marks from patients in our patient satisfaction surveys for the care they received and has been recognized with a Johnson’s^® Childbirth Nursing Award.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.

Spalding Regional Medical Center, part of Tenet Georgia, is a 160-bed acute care hospital located at 601 South Eighth Street in Griffin, Ga. The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of Spalding, Butts, Clayton, Fayette, Henry, Lamar and Pike counties for more than 100 years. Spalding Regional provides a number of services, including specialties in orthopedics, women’s services, cardiac care, oncology services, physical, occupational and speech therapy and sleep medicine. Spalding Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.