WORLD HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
Family Centered Care and Zero-separation
Full integration Family Centered Care is in the aspiration of WHOs* strongest recommendations in Neonatal care. Kangaroo Mother Care* and Zero-Separation** leads the way with focus on constant contact and closeness between infants and parents in a calm setting with gentle care delivery.
But, it has been impossible to achieve up til now even for those trying their hardest.
SOURCE: *WHO 2022 RECOMMENDATION, **GFCNI, **NIDCAP
PRETERM INFANT
Supporting stability and neurodevelopment from day one
Preterm infants are vulnerable and at high risk of stress and instability. Their care involves multiple lines and devices, making all handling complex and time-consuming. This reality leaves preterm infants without enough lifesaving care.
For preterm infants:
+8 hours of Skin-to-Skin care daily
Immediate Skin-to-Skin after birth
Exclusive breastfeeding
Multiple lines and monitoring equipment make handling complex and time-consuming. This can lead to:
Lost opportunities for Skin-to-Skin care
Interrupted bonding and feeding
Increased handling stress
CareFold® supports the practical delivery of neuroprotective care by:
Promoting a calm environment
Enabling gentle, stable handling
Facilitating family contact
Supporting neurodevelopment and stability
WHO Recommendation
These infants are highly vulnerable and require calm environments, gentle handling, and close parental contact.
The Reality in NICUs
→ Lost opportunities for quality neuroprotective care.
How CareFold® Helps
Turning recommendations into everyday practice.
THE CHALLENGE AND REALITY
Leaving Family Centered Care behind
Neonatal care, both inside and outside the incubator, is challenged by tubes and wires connecting the fragile neonate with life sustaining instruments and treatments.
Complicated, risky and resource heavy procedures makes delivery of a high level of quality care for all patients and families impossible. While Skin-to-Skin is safe and cheap as according to WHO*, it remains highly underutilized as a fully integrated part of neonatal care delivery, because of the complexity and risks involved in moving the patients.
The consequences are many and immense, including: poorer infant survival and general health improvements as well as poorer family bonding and negative long term mental & social behavioral impacts.**
SOURCE: *WHO, **DARMSTADT G ET AL 2023 LANCET
THE WAY TO FAMILY CENTERED CARE
Integration of family through care teams and practical tools with CareFold®
CareFold ® is a simple solution.
Easy for teams to adapt workflow processes and implement, supporting further family integration and team onboarding with smooth daily routines.
24/7 use: used continuously in daily patient care, nesting and lifts
Inside and outside the incubator: fully integrated care
Simple workflow: integrating line and patient control throughout care delivery
Easy to use: enabling less experienced nurses
Few hands: less reliance on multiple nurses
PARENTS
Empowering parents as active caregivers from day one
KMC is clinically proven to be safe and highly beneficial for infants and parents, but difficult to implement consistently in a highly complex medical environment. KMC help build parents confidence and parent infant bonding while improving mental health and well being.*
For parents of preterm infants:
Maximize contact with your baby
Support breastfeeding
Be actively involved in care
CareFold® supports parent-centered care by:
Promoting Kangaroo Mother Care
Encouraging zero-separation and skin-to-skin contact
Supporting breastfeeding opportunities
Strengthening bonding and parental confidence
Medical equipment, lines, and clinical routines can make involvement feel complex and overwhelming. This can lead to:
Lost opportunities to hold your baby
Reduced skin-to-skin contact
Feeling like a visitor instead of a caregiver
WHO Recommendation
Close contact and parental involvement are essential for bonding, confidence, and healthy development.
The Reality in NICUs
→ Lost opportunities for connection and confidence.
How CareFold® Helps
Helping parents take an active role from day one.
SOURCE: *DARMSTADT G ET AL 2023 LANCET
NURSES & DOCTORS
Supporting high-quality neonatal care — every shift
In a highly complex clinical environment with fragile patients hooked up to multiple devices the constant time pressure can limit the ability to consistently deliver optimal care and integrate families. The ability to drive family centered care and consistent Kangaroo Mother Care is practically impossible.The standards of care are well known — but sustaining them consistently in daily practice.
WHO Recommendation
For parents of preterm infants:
Maximize contact with your baby
Support breastfeeding
Be actively involved in care
Close contact and parental involvement are essential for bonding, confidence, and healthy development.
The Reality in NICUs
Medical equipment, lines, and clinical routines can make involvement feel complex and overwhelming. This can lead to:
Lost opportunities to hold your baby
Reduced skin-to-skin contact
Feeling like a visitor instead of a caregiver
→ Lost opportunities for connection and confidence.
How CareFold® Helps
CareFold® supports parent-centered care by:
Promoting Kangaroo Mother Care
Encouraging zero-separation and skin-to-skin contact
Supporting breastfeeding opportunities
Strengthening bonding and parental confidence
Helping parents take an active role from day one.
SOURCE: *WHO, **DARMSTADT G ET AL 2023 LANCET
CareFold® supports clinical teams by:
Enabling simple and efficient workflows
Promoting controlled and stable handling
Reducing workload burden
Empowering less experienced staff
Supporting a higher level of care delivery
Clinical complexity, multiple devices, and time pressure can limit:
Opportunities for continuous quality care
Full family integration
Consistent Kangaroo Mother Care
Independent handling without extra staff support
Healthcare professionals are encouraged to:
Deliver the best possible care
Support family integration
Enable Kangaroo Mother Care whenever possible
WHO Recommendation
The Reality in NICUs
→ High standards are known — but difficult to deliver consistently.
How CareFold® Helps
Helping teams focus on value-adding, patient-centered care.
HOSPITALS
Aligning policy, performance, and patient outcomes
Without practical implementation tools, hospitals struggle to consistently deliver high-quality care. Patient outcomes do not reach their full potential, and alignment with WHO recommendations and national KPIs are difficult to achieve and sustain. Clinical resources are used inefficiently, increasing operational pressure and limiting cost-effectiveness. Strong policies exist on paper — but without the right support, they fall short of measurable impact.
Hospitals are encouraged to:
Establish policies that support family integration
Implement procedures and tools that enable best-practice care
Align care delivery with evidence-based standards
Without the right tools and resources, hospitals may face:
Difficulty implementing WHO-aligned policies
Inefficient use of staff and clinical time
Barriers to consistent family integration
Longer hospital stays for infants and parents
CareFold® helps hospitals by:
Improving quality of care delivery
Supporting improved patient outcomes
Enabling alignment with WHO and national KPIs
Promoting more efficient use of clinical resources
Supporting cost-effective care delivery
WHO Recommendation
The Reality in NICUs
→ Strong policies require practical implementation tools.
How CareFold® Helps
Turning policy into measurable impact.
WHO Recommendation
Hospitals are encouraged to:
Establish policies that support family integration
Implement procedures and tools that enable best-practice care
Align care delivery with evidence-based standards
The Reality in NICUs
Without the right tools and resources, hospitals may face:
Difficulty implementing WHO-aligned policies
Inefficient use of staff and clinical time
Barriers to consistent family integration
Longer hospital stays for infants and parents
→ Strong policies require practical implementation tools.
How CareFold® Helps
CareFold® helps hospitals by:
Improving quality of care delivery
Supporting improved patient outcomes
Enabling alignment with WHO and national KPIs
Promoting more efficient use of clinical resources
Supporting cost-effective care delivery
Turning policy into measurable impact.
