Every year 15 million premature babies are born in the world, which represents one in every ten births. The vast majority of them require the care of an incubator to, where they are maintained and cared for until they are ready to go home. Some only stay there for a few days, while others for a few months.
The incubator is undoubtedly one of the greatest medical inventions of the last century, helping to save the lives of millions of babies . We all know them or know a baby who has been in one, but have you ever wondered how this sophisticated device works . We have spoken with Dr. José Enrique Sánchez Martínez, pediatrician and neonatologist at the Vithas Parque San Antonio Hospital in Málaga, who has explained to us how this artificial uterus works.
What is an incubator?
An incubator is a key tool in neonatal units. It is a kind of crib that can be closed or opened without opacities, with a comfortable mattress inside on which the newborn is placed. It also consists of air filters, openings to be able to move the baby, and thermoregulation and monitoring systems to control different variables.
Incubators have been a breakthrough in caring for babies who are born with problems, are underweight, or are premature. Thanks to them, many babies who otherwise could not have survived have been saved . The indications for a baby to be admitted to the neonatology unit and require an incubator are very varied: prematurity, low birth weight, jaundice, lung immaturity, that has aspirated meconium or if it presents any problem that the pediatrician considers that requires observation or special care.
Incubator history
The incubator has a curious story behind it, related to the raising of chickens and how the heat favored the incubation of the chicks.
- In 1878, the Parisian-born gynecologist Stéphane Tarnier modified a chamber with a heater based on an incubator for raising chickens . He later hired Odile Martin, a chicken farmer at the zoo, to develop a kit for premature newborns that was successful in reducing neonatal mortality among infants weighing less than 2,000 grams at birth.
- In the early 1900s, Pierre Budín, considered by some to be the father of neonatology, introduced the concept that a constant temperature should be maintained for the survival of babies born before term.
- At the end of World War II, thanks to modern incubators, incorporating oxygen therapy and other advances, the infant mortality rate dropped significantly between 1950 and 1988.
- Incubators have continued to be continuously improved to this day, equipped with the highest technology to increase the survival of premature babies.
How does an incubator work and how have they evolved?
The ultimate goal of an incubator is to create the optimal environment similar to what the baby would have if it were to continue in the womb . In recent years, incubators have experienced a great advance and have gone from being simple rooms in which the baby rested, to being able to control multiple parameters and constants of our children.
Most of the latest generation incubators allow us to control the following parameters: temperature, humidity, isolation, weight control, oxygen therapy, phototherapy and constant monitoring. In addition, the incubators have small openings for venous lines and even to place the X-ray plates without having to open the doors or manipulate the newborn.
Are all incubators the same?
No, incubators can be closed (explained above) or open (also called “warming cradles”) which can have the same characteristics as closed ones, except for insulation and humidity.
It must be said that most neonatal units are progressively incorporating state-of-the-art incubators and logically, depending on the baby’s pathology, one or the other will be used. Generally, when the baby is of adequate weight and does not need special insulation, heated cribs will be used.
Is the ‘Mother Kangaroo’ method compatible with the incubator?
The ‘Kangaroo Mother’ method is a method that is based on keeping babies in skin-to-skin contact with their mother . It is a method that has been proven effective and easy to apply, promoting the health and well-being of both premature and full-term newborns .
The origins are in Bogotá, Colombia, where the kangaroo method was developed as an alternative to inadequate and insufficient incubator care provided to premature newborns. More than two decades of application and research have made it clear that the ‘Mother Kangaroo’ method constitutes more than an alternative to incubator care . The clear benefits for premature babies gave way to benefits for any other newborn.
It has been shown that the ‘Kangaroo Method’ has an effective impact on temperature control, breastfeeding and the development of affective bonds for all neonates , regardless of their environment, weight, gestational age.
The method contributes to the humanization of neonatal care and to enhance the emotional ties between mother and child regardless of the country or culture in which it is applied. By facilitating breastfeeding, kangaroo care offers considerable advantages in severe morbidity.
For all this, the kangaroo method can replace an incubator , in fact, there is no better way for a baby than to be on top of its mother, but we must always bear in mind that there are pathologies and moments of clinical evolution that require the use of the incubator.
Both methods are compatible and must complement each other . Currently most neonatology services are “humanized” and aware that parents are involved in the care of their children. The best thing is to find out where you are going to have your baby and learn how to work in the event that admission to the neonatal unit is necessary.
In Babies and more | When your baby is born premature and nothing is as you expected, The premature baby needs to feel touched for better brain development, Tour of a Neonatal ICU: all for the good of premature babies
