Volunteer Cuddling/Holding -- need your input, please!! Even if you're new to NICU!

[scrabblern, RN]

Hi everyone,

My unit has had a volunteer cuddle/hold group since last April. I work in a 34-bed unit. Last year our Unit Based Council voted that cuddling would not be a standard of practice, meaning that we have to have a parental consent form signed for every baby that is to be touched by a volunteer. That can be pretty inconvenient at times when a volunteer is holding one baby, another baby is screaming its head off, and there is nobody around to pacify the crying baby. We've had a number of babies whose parents wouldn't show up for several days and here is this 38 weeker... Or here is a baby in drug withdrawal, or abandoned baby. The kind of babies that need to be held and interacted with but are not because parents are not there to sign off. We've had one or two verbal consents done but that's usually done by a social worker. So...

If your unit has a hold/cuddle program in place, I would like to know whether holding/cuddling is a standard. I would like to get as many responses as possible in the next two weeks (before the next UBC)... I'm hoping to present your responses.

Thanks!