1 in every 10 women in the United States will experience the premature birth of their child. A heroic organization is helping these women keep two eyes on their baby even if they are miles away.
Called the AngelEye System, developed by the firm of the same name, it’s a camera with a remotely-accessible 24-hour feed that’s mounted via a boom arm onto any of the beds or tables an infant may be placed on.
It allows the parents who may not always be able to stay with their child to keep an eye on them whenever nerves or separation anxiety strike. Thanks to advances in medical science, premature birth is a challenge that can be reliably overcome. A modern neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) contains batteries of devices for ensuring that development can continue on the right track for a long and healthy life even under these terrifying circumstances.
NICU stays for premature babies though can sometimes take weeks, even months, during which the new parents will have to face the fact that they can’t simply live in the hospital.
Philadelphia’s Lauren Walsh had to face this exact situation when her third baby John was born prematurely at 32 weeks, not even weighing 2 pounds.
“John was so critical when he was born that they didn’t even lift him over the sheet for me to see him,” Walsh says “So, I saw him just being wheeled out of the operating room.”
John required a 61-day stay in the NICU, and the AngelEye Camera was a lifeline for his mom and dad who could check up on him at any point by switching the camera feed on from their phones or computers.