How a 3D tour of neonatal care units will help parents

Little Leo sneezing in his sleep knows nothing of his parents' stress since he and his twin sister, Sophia were born prematurely.

The 20 week pregnancy scan showed he wasn't growing so doctors decided to deliver both babies early.

The family has spent the past five weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at King's College Hospital in Camberwell.

For parents who find themselves there, it is "terribly frightening" says neonatal matron, Jude Angell, because "it's the unknown."

To help reduce anxiety, King's has launched a 3D virtual tour of the unit to help families navigate, and explain some of the medical jargon.

On the day I met parents Melanie and Shane, their son, Leonardo had just been reunited with his twin sister, Sophia.

Shane told me: "He had surgery on day eight of life and was in the intensive care unit a little bit longer than his sister Sophia," but he is "catching up" with her now.

They were born at 29 weeks gestation, which makes them 34 weeks now and both are "doing well."

The family live in Essex and were referred to King's when pregnancy scans showed that Leo wasn't growing.

Mum Melanie said: "When you're in that stressful situation…I think any kind of preparation you can do is useful."

She said the 3D tour of the NICU at King's College Hospital would have been beneficial for them.

"We got to do an in-person tour but that was obviously very close to when they were delivered so it was a high stress situation anyway. Having access to that from our local hospital would have been good."

Shane added, "There's so much information to take in but just having all of that explained to you and somewhere you can revisit that in your own time is really helpful."

Dr Ravindra Bhat, Clinical Lead for Neonatal Services at King's College Hospital said he and his team cared for "babies who are born extremely prematurely and also those babies who need specialist care in the form of surgery or neurosurgery."

"It's a very stressful time for these families because very often it is unanticipated and happens suddenly."

"There is a lot of equipment on our unit and it is quite overwhelming for the families," he added.

The 3D tour is interactive, so parents can click on a piece of machinery or medical instrument to find out what it is and does.

NICU Matron, Jude Angell said, "Neonatal intensive care is a place that nobody knows anything about until they get to that moment that their baby's admitted."

She shows me how NICU is split into three sections.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is "where the most sick babies are cared for."

From there they go to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) "for babies who have got a little bit stronger, can breathe a little bit better."

And finally, the part Leo and Sophia are staying for a few more weeks, the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).

Matron Angell said, "Special care is a lovely space to be. It's where our babies 'mature', if you like."

"Parents really get engaged in the care and take on all that parenting responsibility in preparation for going home."

All of this is shown on the 3D tour at King's, which was funded by the children's charity, Ickle Pickles.

Rachael Marsh, Co-Founder of Ickle Pickles, said: "Virtual tours enable families to see the environment where their infant will be cared for.

"This may be useful in the weeks leading up to birth, after delivery, or as part of a transfer from another hospital.

"In all these circumstances it is hoped that being able to look at the environment will reduce any anxiety associated with entering somewhere unfamiliar."

King's College London is one of the first places in London, along with Great Ormond Street and Croydon to have a 3D tour and there are plans to expand it to other neonatal services across the capital.