Munster resident Angela Sajn didn’t anticipate complications during her pregnancy with her second child. But when contractions began more than 10 weeks early, there was no way to stop the delivery and her son Wyatt was born. He weighed just over two pounds and as with many premature newborns, he would require weeks of treatment and support to help him develop outside the womb.
“It was so strange to give birth, and then not have your baby right there with you to celebrate with family and friends,” Sajn says. “I was hospitalized for 10 days. Wyatt was there for more than 60 days. Even though I tried to be at his bedside twice a day, it gave me tremendous peace of mind to visually check in on him any time I wanted.”
At Community Hospital’s NICU, there is now a piece of technology that delivers a hefty dose of comfort: the NicView™ newborn streaming video system.
NicView is a small, innovative camera system placed at designated bed spaces in the NICU that allows parents, family and friends to view their infant in real-time, 24/7, through a secure online portal. The system is specifically designed to help families develop bonds with their preemie or hospitalized infant when they cannot be at the bedside.
The technology also “helped my 7-year-old daughter ‘visit’ her little brother since she wasn’t able to go into the NICU after visitation restrictions went into place,” Sajn says. “Also, my husband’s aunt, my sister, the grandparents, all got to check in on Wyatt whenever they wanted. It was an awesome experience.”
To find out more about healthy beginnings for babies and moms at Community Hospital, St. Catherine Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center, visit COMHS.org/baby.
