Crochet octopuses to help premature babies
Octopus therapy is helping thousands of premature babies in neonatal units in different hospitals. What is this? Small crochet octopuses are intertwined in the little hands of babies because, according to experts, great achievements are achieved in the evolution and improvement of premature babies.
Octopus therapy is helping thousands of premature babies in neonatal units in different hospitals. What is this? Small crochet octopuses are intertwined in the little hands of babies because, according to experts, great achievements are achieved in the evolution and improvement of premature babies.
The initiative of the crochet octopuses for premature babies started at the University Hospital of Aarhus in Denmark and has already spread throughout Europe.
Why crochet octopuses help premature babies
Photo: Poole Hospital (UK)
Several neonatal units across Europe are trying a new way to help and comfort premature babies. It is a low cost and high impact therapy, it is simply giving them crochet octopus that babies can hug and touch.
What therapeutic power can a crochet octopus have for a premature baby? It is believed that by grasping the tentacles, babies remember the safety of the mother's womb when, amniotic fluid, the rhythmic sounds of her mother's heart and the swing of movement played with the umbilical cord.
This is demonstrated by ultrasounds: babies touch, play and roll with the umbilical cord throughout pregnancy. These small crochet octopuses, with their soft tentacles, help premature babies to remember the tranquility and safety they felt in the womb.
The idea of giving crochet octopuses to premature babies
This initiative emerged in February 2013 in Denmark, with the so-called OctoProject. A group of volunteers began to weave colorful crochet octopuses for newborns and sent them to several hospitals. The doctors began to see how beneficial it was for them and today, this association donates crochet octopuses to families with premature babies to hospitals throughout Denmark and Greenland.
They have also helped start the same project in other places such as Norway, Belgium, France, Italy, Florida, Turkey or Sweden. In several Spanish hospitals this practice has also been carried out for some time.
How crochet octopuses help premature babies
- According to research, these small crochet octopuses that coexist inside incubators with premature babies helps them improve breathing and heart pattern. Se - It is believed that by grasping the tentacles, babies feel (spacing) as in the womb, since it reminds them of the umbilical cord and
gives them security. Se - It has been observed that when touching or caressing the octopus, babies tend to not pull so much of the cables and tubes
. - It has also been found thatimproves the blood oxygen level of babies.
Of course, the technique of the octopus is not an obstacle to the method of the mother and the kangaroo father, something fundamental for the evolution of premature babies. It is the skin with skin and the bond between the parents and their baby.
