On these pages you will find a bit more detail and information about different aspects of NINO and about RIGHT BIRTH

      A RIGHT BIRTH IS A BABY’S BIRTHRIGHT

The DOULA is not  “nice extra”, it is evidence based and the essence of reproductive biology. John Kennell, and Justus Hofmeyr have stated “If the doula was a drug, it would be unethical not to use it”. Sometimes people look at the actual delivery at birth as the finishing line of a marathon … it is actually the beginning of an exciting journey. Well it should be, it is not always.

     IT MATTERS HOW WE ARE BORN

Our first 1000 minutes are critical to making this journey a happy and rewarding one, or a tough slog. What we offer from NINO is the extension of the doula into this FIRST THOUSAND MINUTES, combining the doula function with the neuroscience of kangaroo mother care and skin-to-skin contact. Hence, the doula is not just for the mother, but also for the baby, and so we have the KANGAROULA. In its beginnings “Kangaroo Mother Care” was something for small babies, born preterm or with low birth weight. The neuroscience shows clearly that skin-to-skin contact is the basic and normal place of care for ALL BABIES, even if they are “big and strong”. It is because of this that it works so well for small babies: the smaller the baby is, the more it needs the right place for its care. Skin-to-skin contact without separation is for EVERY BABY. Care for PREMATURE BABIES relies greately on incubators. Yet, there is NO EVIDENCE that incubators “do good”, they just do what they do, which is to warm and humidify. Mother’s chest warms and humidifies much more efficiently and better, as well as providing better heart, lung’ stomach and kidney functions. Above all mother’s sensations fire and wire emotional and social intelligence in the baby’s brain. There are almost 1000 published papers (2012) all stating that skin-to-skin contact is better than incubator. But since incubator is “normal” nobody takes notice. Skin-to-skin contact is absolutely vital for your premature baby. Early parenting starts at birth!  In the olden days people used to believe that the newborn baby could not hear or see or think or remember, that it was hardly conscious. That is absolutely wrong.  The Swedish Professor of Paediatrics, John Lind, wrote:

“Personally I feel that one of the biggest discoveries in the field of pediatrics in my time is the concept that the newborn child is a small human being, with all its senses developed open and receptive”.