The Newborn Intensive Care Foundation aims to raise $60,000 to fund 40 new cameras with an updated system so parents can keep an eye on their newborns from home. Photo: Newborn Intensive Care Foundation/Facebook.
Welcoming new life into the world is meant to be a joyous occasion, but sometimes it becomes something closer to a nightmare.
That was the reality faced by Tina Martinovic in 2016 when she gave birth to her son, Kristijan, by emergency cesarean at just 27 weeks.
“He was delivered silent, and spent about 83 days in hospital,” she said.
“He’s now seven and thriving – but that’s something that wouldn’t have been possible without the support we received.”
Seven years after coming on board as a volunteer following her son’s birth, Tina now serves as coordinator for the Canberra chapter of the Newborn Intensive Care Foundation.
Her role includes coordinating the annual Bake for Babies fundraiser for sick and premature newborn babies being cared for in Canberra’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Nursery (SCN).
“We ask people to bake and sell their treats to family, friends, work colleagues, and then deposit those proceeds into the Bank for Babies account,” Tina said.
“There is also a virtual edition of the Bake for Babies fundraiser returning, and that started during the COVID lockdowns.
“I approached professional bakers to ask if they wanted to donate their amazing creations to be sold online and the money donated to the foundation.”
In 2023, the money will be used to replace the now defunct NICUcam, a live streaming system where a camera is placed above the baby’s cot.
Parents can access the system via a secure website and share the log-in information with family and friends – something Tina did during Kristijan’s hospital stay.
“It was reassuring for us to know that he was okay and we could watch him,” she said.
“It was like being there in the room – it was lifesaving.”
But from November 2022, NICUcam was no longer supported in Australia.
The Newborn Intensive Care Foundation is looking to update the streaming service with the US-based Angel Eye system.
“We’re hoping to raise $60,000 to finance 40 new cameras,” Tina said.
“That number is because the Special Care Nursery and NICU units at Centenary Hospital for Women and Children have actually expanded after renovations, so we need to install a larger amount.”
While NICUcam was a key in her experience, Tina said the streaming could also help parents and families in a range of other circumstances.
“It would also be important for parents who have other children and can’t be at the hospital as much as they want, as well as people from interstate areas of NSW who can’t make the trip often,” she said.
“They can log in and just have a little peek at their baby to make sure they’re well looked after and their needs are being met.”
Although Tina gave birth to Kristijan before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said the fundraiser had extra meaning in its wake.
“It would have been even more crucial during those times,” she said.
“We couldn’t stay at the hospital 24/7, so every time we left the hospital, we would log in and watch him [Kristijan], and that really eased that separation anxiety and stress.
“I think that feeling of worry would have been paramount during COVID restrictions where there was limited access to hospitals and people couldn’t stay with their newborns.”
The Bake for Babies fundraiser runs from 1 June to 31 August. Register online.
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