[blparent] Babies on Monitors

[Deborah Kent Stein]

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you so much for all of your great suggestions!  You ask some excellent 
questions, too.  I think we may need to have someone who is blind-savvy and 
tech-savvy visit the hospital and make suggestions.  The fact that other 
blind parents have handled this situation successfully is very heartening.

Debbie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Jackson" <jennifersjackson at att.net>
To: "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 4:03 PM
Subject: Re: [blparent] Babies on Monitors


> She may want to talk to another representative from the company with the
> monitors. The machines are very simple to operate, but you know how some
> sighted people can be about figuring out how to explain things in a
> non-visual way. Perhaps a vision specialist can come out and help her 
> label
> the machine?
>
> Now this was six years ago as my little guy turned six last week, but I do
> not remember having any problems with setting up the monitor. Of course we
> may have been monitoring for different things, but it was a heart and
> breathing monitor for a premature baby leaving the NICU to go home.
>
> Basically I put a Velcro strap around his chest that held the monitor in
> place and then swaddled him up around it. When the alarm went off I was
> instructed how to respond. If the monitor was in place I was to pick up 
> the
> baby and check him for distress. Now I could not tell if he was blue or 
> off
> color, but I could check if he was breathing normally and conscious. The
> monitor had colored lights that indicated what kind of problem it was and 
> a
> color detector kept close at hand should check that for her. The machines
> are made to be very simple because they are being operated by 
> inexperienced
> and often frantic parents who just heard an alarm go off about their
> precious baby.
>
>
> I do hope she gets this figured out as I know what a stressful time this 
> can
> be. At first it was uncomfortable, but I had a two year old who was really
> not ready to leave my bed so I found that I kind of liked having the baby
> across the room on a monitor. I slept better anyway until he became mobile
> enough to start setting off false alarms by dislodging the chest monitor.
>
> How premature is the baby of the mom looking for monitor questions? Are
> there any other health problems aside from prematurity?
>
>
> Jennifer
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Deborah Kent Stein
> Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 7:31 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of NFBnet blparent Mailing List
> Subject: [blparent] Babies on Monitors
>
>
> I have just spoken with the new mom Jan posted about earlier.  Her baby is 
> a
>
> preemie, and he will be on a heart monitor when he leaves the hospital. 
> The
>
> monitor has a touch screen.  The hospital tried to find an older model 
> with
> buttons, but they say they are unable to do so.  She is a single mom with
> very limited support in the community, so this is presenting a serious
> problem.  Has anyone on this list had to deal with an inaccessible heart
> monitor?  Any and all suggestions are welcome!
>
> Debbie
>
>
>
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