*New Innovation* New moms can view babies on iPad

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles says it is using iPads to
let new mothers bond with their babies even when they are in separate
areas of the facility. Mothers who are not ambulatory after delivery,
perhaps because of a Caesarean section or other complications, are
able to see their newborns in the Cedars-Sinai Hospital's neonatal
intensive care unit on iPads using a secured Internet connection, the
hospital said in a release Thursday. The program, called BabyTime,
allows them to interact with their infants and the medical team caring
for them. "BabyTime will help bridge communication with the family and
the baby's medical team and is an excellent use of technology to help
new mothers bond with their babies, even when they cannot be
physically at their babies' bedside," Charles F. Simmons Jr. ofthe
Cedars-Sinai Department of Pediatrics said. "When doctors and nurses
are treating a newborn in the NICU, mom can be right there asking
questions and getting updates, even if she's on adifferent floor."
Twenty percent to 30 percent of mothers who undergo C-sections do not
feel well enough to travel from their bed in the labor and delivery
unit to the NICU for the first 24 to 48 hours, Simmons said. When a
baby is admitted to the NICU, an iPad is set up next to the infant's
incubator, while a second iPad is delivered to the new mother, who can
log onto BabyTime twice a day, hospital staff said. "The BabyTime
program will reduce fear and stress in the new moms as they are able
to see their babies and also communicate with the doctors and nurses,"
NICU nurse manager Selma Braziel said.