(2013). HUG Your Baby: Evidence-based support tool for early child rearing. Japanese Journal of Nursing Education 54(12): 1114-1118.
Since some of you may need to brush up on your Japanese in order to read it, I want to share the content of this article in English! The article includes:
- A summary of the challenges childbearing families in Japan face today:
- decreased fertility rates
- increased average age of new mothers
- isolation of young mothers due to decreased proximity of the nuclear family
- long working hours of fathers
- Academic background of HUG Your Baby: Based on the research and writings of leaders in the pediatric and child development world including:
- Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and his colleagues, Dr. Kevin Nugent and Dr. Edward Tronick
- Drs. Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas
- Dr. Mary Ainsworth
- Drs. Marshal and Phyllis Klaus
- Components of the HUG Your Baby Program: Innovative and family-friendly language helps parents
- observe three newborn "Zones," including the "Resting - sleeping Zones," the "Ready - 'I am ready to eat or play' - Zone," and the "Rebooting - fussing or crying Zone";
- notice "Body SOSs" (changes in color, movement and breathing) and the "Behavioral SOSs" ("Spacing Out," "Switching Off," and "Shutting Down"), in order to
- prevent and solve problems around a baby's eating, sleeping crying and parent-child interaction.
- The feedback received from nurses who completed an evaluation of the HUG Your Baby workshop they attended in Japan.
"The HUG Your Baby workshop gave me useful
skills and resources to teach and support new parents."
skills and resources to teach and support new parents."
"The HUG Your Baby ideas and resources
are appropriate for my culture."
