March 13, 2025, 1:19pm
Alaina Nickel, a student at Georgia State University, has always loved babies.
“As my oldest grandson, I was always in the hospital when my cousin and young siblings were born. I always wanted to work with the baby,” she said.
Every time she enters the hospital, she will have an overwhelming sense of joy and peace. This has led her to work in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This aims to ensure that your baby stays when extra care is needed after birth, especially if you are born prematurely.
Last year, Nickel, who is in the Canton district of Marietta Georgia shares of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, learned about the Relief Society’s global initiative for women and children. One of its goals is to care for the mother and the newborn.
In her research, Nickel learned about kangaroo mother care and its benefits for both mothers and newborns. Relief Society’s global initiative resonated with Nickelle. In particular, it aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and increase positive maternal experiences.
“Kangaroo mother care or skin-to-skin contact is an intervention that can address all of these concerns simultaneously, so we decided to focus our Capstone project on our doctoral programme on kangaroo mother care,” she said.
This care is a highly effective intervention that improves outcomes for both babies and mothers. A baby wearing only diapers is placed directly on the mother’s skin on the chest, with a covering placed on both. This contact maintains temperature, reduces stress, regulates hormones, increases connectivity, promotes breastfeeding, and improves sleep and many other benefits. However, it is not always implemented in NICUS as standard care.
Nickel explained that around 15 million babies are born prematurely each year around the world, and about one in ten babies in the United States are born prematurely. Preterm birth is the main cause of death in children under the age of 5.
In her Capstone Project, Nickel is particularly focused on Atlanta, Georgia. This is because Georgia’s preterm birth rates, low birth weight and infant mortality rates are all higher than the national average.
She wants to create an educational program, so people are better aware of the benefits of kangaroo mother care and skin-to-skin contact.
“It’s been shown that it helps them, even if it’s a very vulnerable baby,” Nickel said. “It never hinders them.”
The baby may be in an incubator connected to several machines with tubes and IVs. However, NICU staff can safely transfer the baby to the mother’s breast.
The main advantage is, “It can be very important, especially in the NICU. This can be a traumatic situation when the birth is not planned.
Nickel works with two NICU occupational therapists and one faculty advisor. Soon she begins a clinical spin in the NICU. In the coming months, she will talk to pregnant mothers and NICU staff in the area. Her project will then be implemented next year.
“If women can be confident about the benefits of kangaroo care, what they want to do and how they will proceed, they can defend themselves,” she said.
She doesn’t have children yet, but she is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about motherhood through this project. She and her husband serve as Sunday School teachers in their wards for those aged 11 and 12.
Her research made her very spiritual. What she learns makes sense to her because of what she knows about her Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.
And she said the gospel of Jesus Christ taught her to help others around her.
Everyone is invited to participate in the Relief Society global initiative by serving in their own territory. Find 25 ways in this church news article and start thinking about what you can do in your home, neighborhood, or community to meet the needs of women and children.
