Here is a story about a mother’s undying love for her son who was born 12 weeks early. Weighing only 2 pounds, Dr. Yamille Jackson’s son Zachary was on a long road to recovery and spent many days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. To be exact, Zachary spent 155 days in the NICU where he was fighting for his life everyday.
The mother spent everyday with her son, but the worst part was leaving her child overnight at the NICU. Jackson stated, “Leaving the hospital without your newborn is very difficult.” Parents who have also experienced similar situations know the difficulties of leaving their child overnight.
With the mothers educational background in ergonomics and human factors engineering, Yamile Jackson was determined in making her son’s overnight stays more pleasant. This was when she decided to make a bean-filled gardening glove which she tucked in with her son overnight in the NICU.
The determined mother also wore a second pair of gloves throughout the day. Wearing it allowed her scent to be passed onto the glove which she swapped out for her son everyday. Jackson’s thought process was that the one-of-a-kind glove would mimic the mothers warmth, scent and the mere presence of her being there for him. The results of the gloves were miraculous- Zachery was rapidly recovering.
After Zachery spent 155 days in the NICU, it was time for him to go home with momma. After a few weeks went by, a nurse called Jackson asking her,“You know those little gloves that you made for Zack? Can you make them for the rest of the unit?”- and this was how the Zaky glove was invented.
The mother happily obliged and made 100 gloves for the hospital. She was also interested in researching the effect of the gloves and how it could help premature babies around the world. Jackson then created her very only company- Natured by Design where she received a grant from Oprah Winfrey.
Doctors examining the effects of the gloves said, babies who slept with the gloves, especially the ones carrying the mothers scent slept for longer periods of times. As doctors have stated, an NICU baby’s sleep is correlated with the baby’s recovery. Babies who slept more showed quicker signs of recovery and healthier overall wellbeing.
Today, the glove has helped thousands of babies across the country. In a 2011 independent research study titled “Give them a hand to Develop their Brain” by Georgia College the researchers examined premature babies born at 28-34 weeks. The research had 3 conditions: some NICU babies with nothing in their isolettes (Infant Incubator), some NICU babies with the Zaky, and a third condition where the NICU babies had the Zaky scented by their mothers.
The findings? Babies with the unscented Zaky showed one-third less breathing episodes than the babies in the isolated condition. The main finding is that babies with the scented Zaky showed NO breathing episodes at all.
Additionally if your hospital does not use the Zaky, you can request for the hospital code and Nurtured and Design will gift the hospital with a free Zaky on behalf of her son. What a wonderful mother and person Jackson is, she makes the live of parents all around the world easier and safer for our children. If you want to see the video about the “Zaky” you can click on the source caption below.
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The Zaky: A Cloth Glove Filled With Beads That Simulates A Mot…This brilliantly simple invention comforts babies in the NICU.
Posted by HuffPost Parents on Monday, July 25, 2016
[Source: Facebook Video – HuffPost Parents ]
