Read-a-thon looks to boost development of babies in neonatal intensive care
Published on Monday, September 11, 2023
By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu
Photos By: Melanie Thortis/UMMC Photography
Kiara Barnes softly reads the Eric Carle book “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” as she rocks her son, Rahiem, telling him all about the book’s red bird, yellow duck and green frog.
The rhyming words are more than a sweet story before an afternoon nap. Reading to babies boosts their neurological development, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. To give babies in neonatal intensive care the best start, the Children’s of Mississippi NICU is hosting a Babies with Books Read-a-thon.
Starting today through Sept. 21, care team members and parents will read to their babies in a friendly competition among 276 neonatal intensive care units across the country. The 2023 Read-a-thon will build on the success of last year’s competition among 154 NICUs, which recorded 31,879 reading sessions.
“We’re honored to join some of the best hospitals in the country in this annual event,” said Dr. Mobolaji Famuyide, chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “When parents read to their babies, they’re not only bonding with them. They’re helping their babies’ brains develop.”
The AAP recommends reading with babies to “promote … social-emotional development … and language and literacy skills during this critical period of early brain and child development.”
Story-time with parents promotes bonding, but studies have shown that the simple act of reading stories to babies in neonatal intensive care can have benefits including development of language, literacy and social skills as they grow.
NICU early interventionist Kara Butler said a parent’s voice during reading can not only help a baby stay calm and happy, but this quality time together can also help reduce stress on them both.
“Babies hear and absorb language before they are born as they are constantly hearing their mother’s voice even when they are asleep,” she said.
“It is crucial that this language exposure continues after birth. Our hope during this event is to raise awareness of the value of talking to babies. These interactions with babies can never be replaced with screen time or other technologies.”
Books will be in each of the 88 private neonatal intensive care rooms inside the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi and Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants as each baby’s first books. This means the supply of books in the NICU will need to be replenished after the Read-a-thon.
Children’s of Mississippi supporters can add to the books through an Amazon wish list for books in English and Spanish. Classics such as Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “Oh, Baby, The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss and “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown are among the selections.
To kick off this year’s Read-a-thon, the NICU care team members dressed like animals or favorite characters from children’s books.
The Berenstain Bears, zebras, leopards, llamas and butterflies were spotted Monday at the Sanderson NICU floors, as care team members helped share with parents the importance of reading to their babies.
“We’re kickstarting the NICU literacy program today,” said registered nurse Megan Moore. “Language development begins in utero, and it’s important for babies to hear language and stories as they grow.”