Giving Compass' Take:

• Kimberly Novod, the co-founder of Saul’s Light, explains how the organization supports families through the NICU process and beyond. 

• What supports exist for families in this position in your community? 

• Learn more about the trauma of having a newborn in the NICU. 

What are some of the things that the organization helps parents with as they go through NICU process?

The mission of Saul’s Light is to create a responsive community around families facing the most critical and sometimes devastating time of their lives. The organization supports families who have lost a baby shortly after birth and those with babies in the neonatal intensive care units at New Orleans-area hospitals.

We provide financial assistance to relieve the burden associated with an unexpected and long hospital stay, whole group and one-on-one peer support. In addition, we outfit each hospital with cuddle cots, to aid in bereavement care, giving families of still born babies more time to create lasting memories and Saul’s Light Little Libraries that promote bonding and early language acquisition during the most critical period of cognitive development.

The financial toll of having a child in NICU can be devastating to a family. How are hospitals and organizations like Sauls Light helping families face this?

The average NICU stay in about 14 days and the average cost is about $80,000! Typically, when families are planning for the birth of their baby, they never assume that their journey to parenthood will begin in a hospital NICU. So when this happens, it can be totally devastating. Each hospital takes steps to support these by having a social worker, comfort care, and other professionals solely dedicated to the needs of NICU families.

Saul’s Light recognizes that while babies are well taken care of, the burden of the NICU experience extends to the entire family: parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.  To those ends, our organization seeks to address support the family holistically, looking after their emotional needs, and if necessary, their financial needs.

Read the full interview with Kimberly Novod about Saul’s Light by Grant Trahant at Causeartist.