Read-a-thon in Limerick neonatal department promotes parent-baby reading
This is the third annual UMHL Read-a-thon
STAFF at University Maternity Hospital Limerick (UMHL) have helped to forge a distinctively intimate bond between 30 newborns and their mums and families over the past week, during what has become an annual Read-a-thon event in the hospital’s neonatal department.
The third annual UMHL Neonatal Read-a-thon ran from September 9 to 19, building on the success of previous events thanks to the support for the event within the hospital community and among leading figureheads and outlets in books and reading in Limerick city and county.
Led by Vivienne Fitzgibbon, neonatal discharge coordinator / clinical midwifery manager 2 and Mairead Fitzgerald, clinical specialist speech & language therapist, Neonatal ICU, UMHL, the event is modelled on the international Baby With Books Read-a-thon project.
This global initiative aims to encourage parents to read to their babies, creating and strengthening the brain connections that, according to the American Academy of Paediatrics, build language, literacy, and social-emotional skills at a critical time in a child’s development.
For parents, the practice, which aligns with the UMHL ethos of family-centred care in the neonatal department and across the hospital community, has numerous emotional and practical benefits.
Mairead Fitzgerald commented on the feedback of one parent who participated: “This mum was telling me that when you come into the neonatal unit as a parent, the first thing you notice is all the wires and equipment and the busy activity, and it can make you feel very emotional and overwhelmed”.
“And so, when you’re with your baby in that environment, and you want to communicate with them, you might not be able to think of the words, and this very simple activity, of holding your baby close and reading a book to them is very relaxing and comforting for both parents and babies,” she continued.
Vivienne Fitzgibbon agreed, saying: “A big part of our work is about supporting parents and promoting bonding with the child – reading to a baby in the neonatal context is a positive, normal activity in what you might call the ‘abnormal’ world of the ICU.”
Both Vivienne and Mairead emphasised the support for the Read-a-thon right across and throughout the UMHL hospital community, from director of Midwifery Eileen Ronan and management, consultants, nursing, midwifery and all staff disciplines.
“This is a key reason that it continues to grow every year—it really is a hospital-wide team effort; it’s not just myself and Mairead,” Vivienne explained.
Externally, the initiative is supported by Brenda Frawley and Limerick City Library; the county libraries in Dooradoyle, with Ciara Barry, and Kilmallock, with Carmel Elliot; by Limerick book stores O’Mahony’s and Quay Books; and by Genius Juniors, an online children’s book shop that provides an option to purchase a book of your choice for a child in Children’s Hospital Ireland.
This support has enabled Vivienne and Mairead to prepare Read-a-thon packs for every family participating, including a book, a participation certificate, a bookmark, an information leaflet on the benefits of reading, and information from the ABS Start Right Little Voices Programme.
As well as Reading Packs, there is also a table in the unit where additional books can be taken by parents who want to continue at home what they have started in the neonatal department.
“That is the success for us,” Vivienne explains. “Although we can measure it by the support that we get from colleagues and our bookstore partners, it’s all about encouraging people to focus on positive, normal activity within the neonatal department, and encouraging them to continue this activity when they go home with their babies. The benefits are all well established by the research.”
Mairead adds: “What we’re encouraging here is also beneficial in the multicultural society Ireland has become. It’s not about prescribed texts – people can read anything to their babies – songs, poems, prayers. There are numerous practical benefits for babies, such as bridging the million-word gap—it’s been established that children who read with their parents every day by the time they go to primary school will be exposed to approximately one million more words than a child who has not. That’s something that really resonates with parents, and rightly so, but more importantly, this is about reinforcing activity that will creating positive associations for both parent and child that can last a lifetime.”