Caregivers

According to the evidence available, vaccination against Covid 19 disease during pregnancy is safe for both mother and baby.
It is important to discuss this with the health care professional that cares for that pregnancy to promote an informed decision about immunization.
Unvaccinated pregnant women are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill, needing intensive care, and even dying. When they get Covid, birth may be triggered prematurely.
It is very important to discuss vaccinations with the professional who is monitoring pregnancy.
 

Here are the key issues concerning the vaccination of pregnant women, to be considered from the first antenatal visits:
Education. Conveying quality information can change one of the main barriers against vaccination, i.e., lack of knowledge about susceptibility to vaccine-preventable diseases, the morbidity caused by those diseases, and the risks and benefits of vaccines.

Sometimes, several vaccines must be administered simultaneously during pregnancy; such is the case of Tdap (tetanus and diphtheria toxoids with acellular pertussis vaccine) and influenza vaccine, for instance.
In studies that enrolled non-pregnant individuals to assess the safety of concurrent administration of Tdap and influenza vaccines, compared to their separate use, there was no evidence of increased risk of adverse events.

Several vaccines can be safely administered during pregnancy. In 2014, the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety conducted a comprehensive assessment of the existing scientific data on the safety of vaccines during pregnancy, concluding that:
- Pregnancy should not prevent pregnant women from receiving a vaccine.
- Although live or attenuated microbial vaccines, such as the MMR vaccine, might pose a theoretical risk to the fetus, no major vaccination-associated adverse outcomes have been reported.

Early learning is any opportunity for an infant, toddler or older child to interact with a person, place or object in their surroundings. Such interactions contribute to brain development and lay the foundation for later learning.
Activities that support early learning in the newborn period include making eye contact, smiling, talking, singing, and gently massaging the infant. Responding in a timely manner or anticipating the infant's cues also promotes early learning.

Banked human milk is the alternative for feeding premature newborns because it allows them to receive a diet consisting of exclusive human milk when the baby’s own mother's milk is unavailable, scarce or contraindicated.

It should be noted that BHM is superior to artificial formula.

Human milk banks should have standards and procedures in place to ensure that they provide sustainability, safety, and appropriate clinical and ethical use.

Gentle full-body massages are recommended for full-term newborns for their potential growth and developmental benefits.

Gentle stroking and massage provide an opportunity to stimulate infants and interact with them.

Reactions to massage should be respected according to the principles of tender and sensitive care.

Since 2011, November 17 has been recognized as the World Prematurity Day in order to give visibility to this problem, raise awareness of the needs and rights of premature babies and their families, sensitize decision makers, health teams and the whole society about the importance of experience and quality care, to advance policies that guarantee the full rights of both babies and families.

Kangaroo mother care is an intervention that enables the mother to assume a central role in her own and her newborn's care, thus ensuring that the lead role remains with the mother and that health workers support and respond to the mother’s and newborn’s needs.

The involvement of fathers/partners and families is important to support mothers in providing Kangaroo Care while in the facility and at home after discharge.

Father and family involvement is especially important when the mother is medically unstable or recovering from surgery.

In the neonatal intensive care unit, parents are not visitors. Families are the true protagonists in the care of their babies