Karen Kane, RN, MSN is
staff nurse on the Mother-Baby Unit and responsible for Perinatal Education at
Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, NC. She has shared great excitement about
using HUG Your Baby in her work with young families. She shares with us her process
of becoming a Certified HUG Teacher.
I
have 3 children (now all adults) which I breastfed. I have been a nurse for
over 26 years. I was surprised by how much I learned when I went to the HUG Your Baby workshop! The HUG information has improved the care I
give on the Mother-Baby Unit where I work and improved the Perinatal Education
classes I teach.
What
has been most important to me is to go beyond using feeding cues as simply the
best way to teach mothers. I was challenged in the HUG workshop to look at
feeding cues as the babies' communication. I was challenged to "Broadcast" babies' behaviors, coping techniques, signs of over-stimulation, and signs the
babies were in 1 of the three "Zones". Also, this change in practice has been
easy to make! I teach these HUG techniques while I admit moms and babies to
the Mother-Baby Unit. I find that using these techniques save time in the long run. I
teach the parents to understand the tools their babies already have and to
understand the tools they can use. Right from the start, parents are much less
frustrated - which makes their babies much happier.
I am
very thankful for the HUG Your Baby workshop. I use what I learned every day I
work. I believe the techniques I learned have benefited me and my patients. I
would strongly encourage all who work with babies to take this workshop.