Wellcome
The project aims to develop a new therapeutic program for newborns with functional disorders and to pilot it at Inselspital Bern.
Factsheet
- Lead school School of Health Professions
- Institute Academic-Practice-Partnership Insel Gruppe/ BFH
- Funding organisation Others
- Duration (planned) 01.02.2024 - 30.06.2025
- Project management Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schmitt
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schmitt
- Keywords Physiotherapy+, Craniosacral Therapy+, Obstetrics+, Gynaecology+, Neonatology
Situation
Births with unplanned obstetric intervention are associated with a significantly higher level of physical and emotional stress for both the mother and the newborn. It also generates high amounts of unphysiological forces that can affect the newborn's cervical spine and skull. Such births are therefore associated with a high prevalence of stress symptoms (including severe agitation), drinking disorders and reduced mobility of the cervical spine (with or without secondary plagiocephaly). If left untreated, these functional impairments can persist for longer and have a negative impact on the child's development. In addition, the resulting intense episodes of crying can increase parental stress and disrupt the mother-child bond. However, these symptoms are not systematically recorded as they are not medical diagnoses and, consequently, not treated. In view of the possible consequential damage to the child's development and the distress for newborns and parents, this situation has been identified as a gap in care, in line with the scientific literature. This gap in care is to be addressed in this project.
Course of action
A new therapeutic program called "Wellcome" is to be developed and piloted for this purpose. The program is to be developed by physiotherapists from the University Clinic for Gynaecology at Inselspital Bern in collaboration with BFH. Once a draft has been written, it will be refined and optimised in an iterative process by an interprofessional team at the Department of Gynaecology. The program will then be implemented in a three-month pilot phase. During this phase, initial experience will be gathered, as well as data on feasibility, safety, interprofessional acceptance, patient satisfaction and therapeutic effectiveness. These experiences and data will then serve as a basis for the discussion on a definitive implementation.
