This is part 2 of one of our current projects, MamaMimicry, which aims to provide therapeutic relief to premature babies in neonatal intensive care units (or NICUs for short), through products that have been developed to mimic a baby’s mother, which provides various benefits like increasing oxygenation levels in their blood and a more normalized heart beat. This project was started by Heather Chow, a medical student with a huge heart for preemie babies. Check out episode #19 if you haven’t already to hear all about the project and how you can support it.
We are continuing to tell the story of MamaMimicry by interviewing a mother, Ingrid Cognato, about her experience going into labor at 26 weeks (6 months)with her daughter WIllow. We talk about what it was like for her and her premature baby to stay in the NICU. Her daughter Willow actually was given a long appendaged stuffed animal to keep her company during her stay and still has it to this day. Hearing what she and her baby experienced really helps us appreciate what the MamaMimicry project can provide for these babies and why it is so needed.