Overview
- Dave Whitlow volunteers in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, where he soothes fragile newborns by holding them during supervised sessions.
- He has done the role for about eight years, visiting twice weekly and typically holding five or six babies per shift, with up to eight on especially busy days.
- Before each session he puts on a gown and gloves, checks with nurses about each infant’s condition and treatments, and watches their vital signs on monitors while he holds them.
- UNICEF guidance cited in coverage says skin-to-skin contact can boost oxygen saturation, lower cortisol after painful procedures, and support growth in preterm babies.
- Nurses describe Whitlow as a trusted part of the care team, and the retired city official says the work once scared him but now feels like the best job he has ever had.