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TECHNOLOGY ENHANCES FAMILY-CENTERED

BIRTH AT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

Christina Ballard of Attleboro held her newborn infant, Claire, lovingly caressing her on her shoulder. “Oh, look how beautiful she is,” Christina told her husband, Jacob. The proud dad smiled in agreement, saying she looked like her mom. “It was such a touching moment,” said Christina.

What made this immeasurably different from a typical experience of new families was the fact that mom and baby were in the Birthing Center at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, and dad was communicating and viewing his new daughter via an Internet connection and Web cam from a Marine base in Afghanistan.

The Ballard family will be featured in a special segment on the TODAY show, scheduled to air on Tuesday, June 2, focusing on support for military families. Christina received assistance from a doula, or birthing coach, provided by Operation Special Delivery. This program, sponsored by the Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association, teams up doulas who volunteer their time with pregnant women whose partner cannot be present for the birthing process because of military deployment. Randi Booth of Worcester, MA served as Christina’s doula.

With the assistance of technology, Marine Corporal Jacob Ballard was able to communicate with and see his wife and the whole birthing and care team at Memorial Hospital throughout labor, delivery and the hospital stay. “I’m so happy that the military allowed him to have the opportunity to be a part of this,” said Christina.

 ”Having the technology to be able to share this important moment with my husband, thousands of miles away, made the birthing process 100 times easier,” noted Christina. “Having him here via the Internet motivated me. For him to witness the delivery was just amazing,” she added.

This was the first long-distance birth for Christina’s family physician Emily Harrison, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, who described the experience as very exciting. “The whole staff was emotional,” she added. Dr. Harrison included Cpl. Jacob in the entire process, noting that he was a great labor partner. “Even though he was not physically in the room, his presence was much more real than I had expected,” stated Dr, Harrison. 

Memorial Hospital is committed to family-centered care. “Our goal,” explained Dr. Harrison, “is to care for the family as a unit and to make the whole family feel welcome. We were glad that, despite the challenges, we were still able to provide a close family environment.”

PC Support Manager at Memorial Hospital Bob Dupont made the technological connections needed to enable worldwide communication. The Verizon Wireless store in Warwick generously responded to a request for a loan of a broadband wireless cellular modem to facilitate communication.

“Bob was great,” Christina acknowledged. He established the connection, coached the staff via telephone from home when technical difficulties occurred a few hours before delivery, and then drove to the hospital to ensure that the connection was maintained throughout the birth. “I felt like an expectant grandfather,” he admitted. 

The new mom thanks all who made this happen. “I can’t thank the wonderful staff at Memorial enough,” she said. “The Birthing Center staff, computer staff, and so many others all helped to make this such a special experience.”