Sometimes advancements in healthcare don't have to be
all that complicated to have a big impact on our health.
So today Jackie is checking out one that's helping
some of the very youngest of hospital patients.
- Hey guys, it's Jackie.
I'm here in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Rush,
learning about an innovation in medicine
that's really helping newborn babies.
But it's not a computer and it's not a machine.
It's cloth hearts and I'm here with Christie
to talk more about how they work.
- The scent cloth program is actually designed
to help babies recognize their parents scent.
So the mom starts out with it,
they wear it close to their skin.
They actually launder them as they would
for infection control.
And then they are taught to wear the hearts
either on their chest
or in their bra to absorb their scent.
And then the heart is placed with the baby,
so that the baby can smell their parents at all times.
- There's health benefits for both the parents,
as well as the baby.
- It actually increases oxytocin levels so in the mother
and the baby.
And that hormone, oxytocin, is known as the love hormone.
It actually produces that calming effect in your body.
Your heart rate is slowed down,
your breathing is more normalized.
So having those benefits actually helps
the baby and the mom.
So the babies are having better sleep periods
and they're just calmer overall so their heart rate
and vital signs are calmer
when they have that familiar scent.
- [Jackie] And I'm sure the parents love this as well
to be able to see those benefits.
- Yeah, and the parents like being able to do something
and feeling like they contribute
to the baby's overall health and also to being here.
So I think it helps to kind of lessen some of that anxiety
that comes from leaving your baby in the NICU.
- [Jackie] Now why do you think this is
such an important innovation in medicine?
- So I think it's really important because whatever
we can do to facilitate that bond between mothers and babies
or families, we should be doing that
just because it improves the overall health outcome.
- [Jackie] Dana and Vancouver Harshfield
are big believers in those benefits.
- Chicago Fire, Cubs, White Sox, Black Hawks
We love our hockey.
It's beyond peace of mind.
You know, especially when you can't always be there.
- [Jackie] They began using the hearts
with their son Bryce after he was born prematurely.
- Bryce was born four months early.
He was born at one pound, five ounces.
Everyone tells you about a NICU.
You never really know or fully understand
until you've experienced it.
It truly is a roller coaster.
- [Jackie] Both parents say the hardest part
was not being able to stay with Bryce
as much as they would have liked.
- Me working early AMs with the crazy weather in Chicago,
sometimes we can't always make it up here.
- You'd want to be there 24-7, you need sleep.
You can't always be there as much as I would like.
You want to have him still remember you.
And not think, "oh the nurse is my mom"
or "the nurse is my dad".
- [Jackie] So when they heard about the hearts,
they were immediately on board.
- It gives him a sense of this who we are
and we're still there and we're right there with him
throughout the whole thing.
- I thought it'd be a really good idea.
It's just important to me that he knows
that I am constantly around.
And that he knows that I'm his dad.
- [Jackie] After months of care,
Bryce has topped five pounds
and the Harshfields believe the hearts were a key part
of getting him there.
- I feel like it's really helped progress.
The scent cloths, they're a major part of everything.
It's been a staple in identifying us as parents
right next to Bryce and helping him progress.
It's been a game changer.
He's come a long way and I really think it's because
he feels that he's not alone.
- He's starting to smile when me or Dana holds him,
so he knows that we're his mom and his dad.
He's a happy baby right now,
which makes me happy.
- It's been amazing.
He's doing wonderful.
Every day is a new day.
We're hoping that he'll be home soon
and just keeps on thriving and fighting.
Tiny but mighty.
- [Jackie] To learn more about other
innovations in medicine just head to our website
livinghealthytv.com.