Guerilla Bay one-month-old twin girl Zoja, with her mother Milada Zemanova, is one of the Canberra Hospital NICU babies benefitting from a new brand of nappy wipes. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
The precious skin of babies in Canberra’s NICU is now more protected after the Centenary Hospital changed its brand of wipes.
Nappy rash, or diaper dermatitis, is one of the most common skin disorders in infants and can pose a significant risk to premature babies.
“Some of these babies only have two or three layers of skin. It’s so thin that one product can make such a big difference,” Canberra Health Services neonatal research lead Associate Professor Margaret Bloom explained.
“We know that baby’s skin is very porous, so it absorbs a lot more, and it’s not as elastic as adult skin, and everything you put on you have to take off, so that can cause a lot of damage to a baby’s skin.”
The nappy rash incidence rate on the ward was about 25 per cent, and no matter what the staff did, that number was stubborn to shift.
Assoc Prof Bloom said the hospital was encouraged to use an Australian, biodegradable and eco-friendly product to see if that could solve the issue.
“So we thought, let’s trial the [wipe] we’ve got, the one that’s most popularly used by families when they go home, and the new one,” she said.
“And we were all surprised to see such a big difference.”
The CleanLife nappy wipe reduced nappy rash incidences from 25 per cent to 5 per cent during the trial.
Wipes are used on premature babies not just for nappy changes, but also for bathing.
Miracle Babies parent representative Tara Corder said parents were comforted to know the product they were using was keeping their babies safe.
“When you’ve got a baby in [NICU or Special Care Nursery], you feel very helpless, like there’s not much you can be doing for your baby,” she said.
“So being able to have wet wipes where you can do your baby’s care … wash their face, wash their skin, that’s something proactive you can do for your baby.”
Canberra Hospital NICU clinical nurse manager Lori Grlj, Associate Professor Margaret Bloom and Miracle Babies parent representative Tara Corder were all involved in the research to reduce incidences of nappy rash in NICU babies. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Bathing and changing their children can be one of the few things parents of premature babies can do to provide care without the help of doctors and nurses. They’re also activities other family members can be involved in.
Ms Conder said this meant baby wipes could especially be an important tool.
“If you’re a parent who had a full-term, healthy baby, you’d be going home and doing lots of different experiences with your child, but when you’re here, those experiences are limited, so opportunities to actually parent your child look very different,” she said.
“Being able to do something for your child that makes them look good, feel good, smell good, that you can do without a nurse or doctor … it becomes a really meaningful bonding moment you can have with your baby.”
Other benefits of the CleanLife wipe include being unscented and better for the environment.
It’s been estimated that about 450 kg of hospital plastic waste will be reduced from landfill per year as result of this product’s use.
Assoc Prof Bloom commended staff for their assistance with the research, which involved extra paperwork for an already busy unit.
“When you’re doing a project, it does add to their workload,” she said.
“They are a really special breed, those who come in here and work with us.”
