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moving fuzzies for baby incubators

move fur and comfort babies with it
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Studies suggest that premature infants who are touched fare better than those kept in isolation despite the additional infection risk. It seems likely that anything fuzzy, warm, and slightly moving combined with comforting voices could provide the same effect. I suggest a sterile, warm, moving, cooing (in a person's voice) stuffed (fuzzy and textured like a person) toy for the incubators of premature children.


Suggested reading: "wire frame mother"

EDIT: fixed a word
Voice, Jun 19 2011

touching babies http://www.uncommon.../touch/touch-2.html
[Voice, Jun 19 2011]

Also related http://today.msnbc....as-pronounced-dead/
[Voice, Jun 19 2011]

Stroking without holding http://psycnet.apa....nals/dev/1/6p1/765/
[mouseposture, Jun 19 2011]

It's a primate thing. http://whyfiles.org/087mother/4.html
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 19 2011]

[link]






       What has "fuzzy" to do with "touching" ? Fuzzy is difficult to keep clean, so it requires justification. Otherwise, propose something warm and moving, but easier to sterilize. Also, is any tactile stimulation equally good, or must it resemble the way adults naturally touch infants? Apparently, cuddling isn't necessary <link>, but there's still a bit of difference between "stroking" and, for example, "poking."   

       Edit: The wire frame/cloth mothers were passive,they didn't actively touch the monkeys. Not clear if that generalizes to active touching. In the linked paper, for example, the stroking hands were probably gloved, not fuzzy. But a reasonable point.   

       Perhaps the floor of the incubator could be made of a slightly flexible material, underneath which was a roller, pressing slightly upwards against the underside, which rolled from the head to the foot end, repeatedly, giving a stroking effect without risk of, for example, getting tangled in the many tubes & wires attached to the infants, or rubbing too hard, in the wrong place, and injuring them.
mouseposture, Jun 19 2011
  
      
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