The Cozy Project (RGS)
November 13, 2013
Dr Joy Lawn, a neonatal physician, once said, “These babies are born too soon, but they are not born to die.”
You’ve probably heard the term “premature babies” more than once, and you probably have more than one friend who’s a premature baby. After all, 1 in 10 Singaporean babies are born premature. You probably understand, too, that being premature comes with more health complications such as jaundice and poor immunity.
However, what you may not know is that being premature is not cheap and definitely not cozy.
A one night stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can cost up to $562. Miss Caroline Kong, a correspondent from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), highlighted to us that due to the high cost of NICU care, KKH cares for 20-30 cases of families of premature babies who are unable to afford the cost of giving their babies a chance to live and develop every year. On average, hospitalisation in NICU ranges from two to seven months and can cost upwards of $20,000.
The preemies lack the necessary body fat to maintain body temperature, and thus they have to be kept warm in incubators with special clothing. The special clothes refer to knitwear that the babies don, such as beanies, to reduce heat loss. Beanies are knit by volunteers on an ad hoc basis and dropped off at the NICU in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. However, they are never sufficient as each baby requires more than just one piece of clothing and knitwear takes a substantial amount of time to produce.
Here is where we come in, just a small team of 8 girls that are trying our best: we are The Cozy Project, a Raffles Girls’ School Community Problem Solving team that aims to improve the welfare of premature babies, such that there is increased support for the premature babies in Singapore, in every way possible.
This November we will be organizing Singapore’s first ever Prematurity Day 2013! Following up our previous initiative, Knitathon, where avid knitters gathered to knit for a good cause.
World Prematurity Day has been commemorated in nearly 50 countries worldwide, and it is time to bring it to Singapore to increase the social support for the premature babies. We will be raising funds for the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital Health Endowment Fund – Preemie Fund, and the money will go towards helping the babies and their families to better cope with the weight of the hospital bills. We hope that you will join us and bring your family and friends for an exciting day of fun and games, all while helping these babies. 17 November 2013, 5pm to 9pm, Changi City Point Arena @ L3, we hope to see you there!
Check out our facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/cmpsthecozyproject
And our event page at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/250811168402152/?source=1 for more details!
Remember, these babies are born too soon, but they are not born to die. You can help.
