The Little Royal Readers program hopes to encourage more special moments like this.

The team in the RBWH Neonatology Unit has launched a new program aimed at fostering bonding and easing anxiety for both babies and parents.

Little Royal Readers is a dedicated, ongoing reading program for neonatology patients and encourages parents and other family members to spend as much time as possible reading to their baby in the unit.

Babies receiving care in neonatology are often too unwell to be touched or held by their parents, which can cause stress, anxiety, and bonding issues in the future. The Little Royal Readers program has been developed to enable families to bond with their baby without touch, but through voice. Research has shown there are many benefits in reading to babies, including providing a sense of calm and comfort, better voice recognition and improved language, reading and math skills in the future.

Upon being admitted to the unit, each baby will be gifted a library bag and a children’s book to start them on their reading journey. Parents are encouraged to bring in additional books to read to their baby while they’re in hospital, and hopefully well into their childhood once they go home.

Little Royal Readers Program Manager and RBWH Intensive Care Nursery Clinical Nurse Ellie Kersevani said she is thrilled to see the program finally up and running.

“Having a baby in neonatology can be a stressful time for any parent. Royal Little Readers hopes to empower parents to play an active role in their babies development, even though they may not be able to play a typical ‘hands-on’ role such as cuddling or feeding them,” Ellie said.

“The idea came when our unit participated in an internationally run read-a-thon two years ago. The positive response from parents was overwhelming and we saw so many benefits in just a short two-week period. I thought, ‘We should be doing this all the time!’

“Since then, a lot of time and effort has been put into getting our own RBWH program up and running. Thanks to some generous community groups who have sewed us library bags and publishing companies including Wombat Books and Penguin Publishers who have donated us children’s books, we have finally been able to launch Little Royal Readers.

“We can’t wait to see our babies and parents thriving within the program for years to come.”