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Showing their hearts for charity

Freedom-Naples 4-H Club sewing project members create fabric hearts to give to the neo-natal intensive care units at the Stollery, Royal Alexandria and University of Alberta
4-H Naples Freedom sewing project-cropped
The Freedom-Naples 4-H sewing project members produced several fabric hearts for the Tender Loving Care Cloths initiative at three Edmonton-area hospitals. Back row, L-R: Jaylenna Baron, MacKenzie DeVries and Anna Wairt. Front row, L-R: Leigha DeVries, Alexa Van Assen, Jade Anderson and Payton Litke.

BARRHEAD - It is a little gesture that is filled with love and provides real tangible benefits for the babies and their families in the neo-natal intensive care units at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, Royal Alexandria and the University of Alberta.

Nine Freedom-Naples 4-H Club members practiced their sewing skills and created several cloth hearts from scrap pieces of materials for use in the three hospitals NICU wards as part of its Tender Loving Care Cloths initiative.

When a baby is admitted into the NICU ward at the three hospitals the families and the infant are each given a cloth heart.

The intent behind the hearts said sewing project teacher Joyce Properzi is to help the child and the parents bond. The hearts took the sewing project members a little over a month to complete.

“Babies admitted into the NICU are separated from their parents often for long lengths of time,” she said. “The hearts are a way for them to stay connected.”

In reality, it is a little more complicated, but the mechanics are simple. Each parent or caregiver wears one heart against their body, while the other is wrapped with the baby. After a few days, the fabric hearts are exchanged.

The heart that smells like the parent or caregiver is used to provide the baby with a sense of physical closeness and comfort, as the parent is often unable to be in direct contact with their child while in the NICU.

Conversely, the scent of the infant can help stimulate lactation for a mother who is storing breast milk for a hospitalized baby.

“The development of any baby is dependent on the sensory experiences provided by the environment and the loving, nurturing relationship with the parents,” Dr. Juzer Tyebkhan, a neonatologist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, said in a release.

 “The heart cloths improve infant development, and increases parental familiarity as the baby comes to recognize the scents.”

Properzi said received the request from the Stollery through the mail via a third party.

“I’m not quite sure, I think it came from one of the quilting groups but when I read it I knew it would be a perfect fit for us,” she said.

During the year, 4-H sewing project members have to make four projects, one large, such as a quilt, or jacket along with three smaller items.

Properzi also noted that no matter what subsection of 4-H, members are required to volunteer as part of their pledge of community service — by making the hearts, members aptly fulfilled that obligation.


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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