For many families a neonatal intensive care unit is a place of fear and uncertainty due to the concerning conditions of some infants and the technology and wiring used to keep them alive.

However, UPMC and RAPTbaby have partnered to make UPMC Harrisburg’s NICU better. RAPTbaby donated twenty Smarter Sleep Sound machines that support infant brain development, sleep and performance across all stages of life.

Michelle Loomis, major gift officer at UPMC Pinnacle, and April Benasich, co-founder and chief scientist for RAPT Ventures Inc. joined us on The Spark Wednesday to discuss NICU environments and how these sleep sound machines are making a difference for UPMC Harrisburg's youngest patients.

Benasich said, it's important that babies are in an environment where they can hear human noise so they can build their language and acoustic maps.

"In a NICU that is all in one room, the noise level and competing sounds mask a lot of the human noise that babies need to hear as they grow," Benasich said. "...When we did our Raptbaby Smart Sleep Machine, it was really in a response to so many parents using white noise, including parents that had preterm infants, which masks sound. It's like all the same sound, all the same frequencies, at all the same intensities. And that's not what the brain needs to listen to when it's setting up these networks."

RAPTbaby donated twenty of their sound machines to UPMC Harrisburg's NICU for use in their private rooms. Loomis, who is the mother of a child who was previously in a NICU, said the machines could be a source of encouragement for mother's who feel helpless while their child is in the NICU.

"For a mother to know that the hospital system cares so much that they are going above and beyond to get the best technology for my baby... Having that ability to to be present and to know that the medical team and health system is doing everything they can to stay ahead of the curve with technology is absolutely amazing," Loomis said.

For many families a neonatal intensive care unit is a place of fear and uncertainty due to the concerning conditions of some infants and the technology and wiring used to keep them alive.
However, UPMC and RAPTbaby have partnered to make UPMC Harrisburg’s NICU better. RAPTbaby donated twenty Smarter Sleep Sound machines that support infant brain development, sleep and performance across all stages of life.
Michelle Loomis, major gift officer at UPMC Pinnacle, and April Benasich, co-founder and chief scientist for RAPT Ventures Inc. joined us on The Spark Wednesday to discuss NICU environments and how these sleep sound machines are making a difference for UPMC Harrisburg's youngest patients.
Benasich said, it's important that babies are in an environment where they can hear human noise so they can build their language and acoustic maps.
"In a NICU that is all in one room, the noise level and competing sounds mask a lot of the human noise that babies need to hear as they grow," Benasich said. "...When we did our Raptbaby Smart Sleep Machine, it was really in a response to so many parents using white noise, including parents that had preterm infants, which masks sound. It's like all the same sound, all the same frequencies, at all the same intensities. And that's not what the brain needs to listen to when it's setting up these networks."
RAPTbaby donated twenty of their sound machines to UPMC Harrisburg's NICU for use in their private rooms. Loomis, who is the mother of a child who was previously in a NICU, said the machines could be a source of encouragement for mother's who feel helpless while their child is in the NICU.
"For a mother to know that the hospital system cares so much that they are going above and beyond to get the best technology for my baby... Having that ability to to be present and to know that the medical team and health system is doing everything they can to stay ahead of the curve with technology is absolutely amazing," Loomis said.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

Advertisement