Congenital Heart Disease Babies at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital – First to Receive Voice and Heartbeat Recording Devices

February is a time when hearts are in the spotlight. It is a time earmarked for raising awareness on congenital heart disease (CHD). According to studies it’s classified as the most common type of birth defect^1,2 with up to 3.12 million babies born with CHD in 2019³.

To commemorate the annual CHD calendar awareness week, AstraZeneca partnered with Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH), Johannesburg, through its patient support programme Yes2Nurture, by donating unique #hearts2help recording devices to parents of babies born with heart anomalies. The day marked the first handover ceremony, with a nationwide roll-out to follow.

The Clop heart-shaped recording device, enclosed in a soft antimicrobial 10cmx10cm cushioned heart casing, can record any sound for up to 30 seconds. A father or mother’s voice, heartbeat, or even a lullaby, can be recorded and played to provide emotional comfort to the sick babies who are often separated from their parents during extended stays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Commenting on the donation of the #hearts2help devices, Dr Khomotso Mashilane, Medical Director: African Cluster, at AstraZeneca says that there’s no doubt that during NICU hospitalisations, parents feel helpless while separated from their sick children. It can be emotionally traumatising for babies and parents alike.

“We understand how difficult this can be and we are delighted that through our initiative we can help provide a level of comfort. For parents, being able to leave ‘an aspect of themselves’ with their baby, reduces their anxiety. Knowing they are contributing to the daily care of their sick infant and helping reduce the distress of being physically separated from them has many positive benefits for the infants,” adds Dr Mashilane.

Expanding on this, Dr Mashilane referenced study statements indicating that from around 18 weeks, an unborn baby starts to hear sounds in the mother’s body – like her heartbeat⁴. Studies further show that it’s comforting for babies to be exposed to familiar, meaningful sounds like their mother’s heartbeat or her voice while in NICU, which has a calming effect on their heart rate, raises oxygen saturation levels, improves vitals, and facilitates bonding^6,7. In reducing the emotional struggle during extended NICU stays, the donation of the Clop #Hearts2Help devices will be a comfort for babies and parents alike – alleviating much of their separation anxiety.

In South Africa, February is also the start of Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) season. Although RSV is a common respiratory virus that typically causes mild cold-like symptoms, it can be dangerous for CHD infants because they are at higher risk for severe respiratory infections, such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. If they get an infection, the effects are more severe than in most children which leads to RSV related hospitalisation^7-10.

Every year up to three million children under five are hospitalised with RSV¹¹ and approximately 60,000 babies succumb to the illness¹². RSV is an infectious disease that disproportionately impacts the youngest members of society. CHD awareness week is a reminder of the need to improve public education and preventative measures in vulnerable babies. The collaboration between AstraZeneca and NMCH aims to shift the needle when it comes to reducing infections through education and outreach initiatives, considering the risk of RSV to infants with CHD.

Although there is no vaccine for RSV – there are preventative measures that can protect CHD infants and reduce the risk of them being infected. Steps include ensuring that anyone handling the baby washes their hands regularly, avoiding exposing the infant to crowded places and other young children, keeping toys, linens and clothes clean, and no smoking in the home or around the child. Kissing the infant on their lips should also be avoided¹³. Preventative treatment¹⁴ can be discussed with a healthcare professional.

South Africa’s RSV season typically runs from February to June and it’s possible to contract the respiratory virus more than once in a season. Children with CHD are at risk for severe RSV throughout their first two years of life.⁹

“By distributing the thought-provoking #hearts2help device – with compelling RSV disease information, we hope our campaign will not only provide comfort but also help educate parents on how to keep their CHD babies safe from infection,” concludes Dr Mashilane.

Keeping a high-risk baby healthy needs dedication and teamwork.
#preventionisprotection

Find out more about the risks of RSV for CHD babies at www.yes2nurture.co.za

References

1. Checchia PA, Paes B, Bont L, et al. Defining the risk and associated morbidity and mortality of severe respiratory syncytial virus infection among infants with congenital heart disease. Infect Dis Ther. 2017;6(1):37- 56. doi:10.1007/s40121-016-0142-x
2. Liu Y, Chen S, Zühlke L, et al. Global birth prevalence of congenital heart defects 1970-2017: updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 260 studies. Int J Epidemiol. 2019;48(2):455-463. doi:10.1093/ije/dyz009
3. Roth GA, Mensah GA, Johnson CO, et al. Global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, 1990-2019: update from the GBD 2019 study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;76(25):2982-2021. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2020.11.010
4. PujolR. et al. Development of neurosensory structures in the human cochlea Acta Otolaryngol (1992)
5. Graven, S. N., & Browne, J. V. (2008). Auditory development in the fetus and infant [Abstract]. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1527336908001347
6. Katherine Rand, Amir Lahav, Maternal sounds elicit lower heart rate in preterm newborns in the first month of life. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378378214001881?via%3Dihub
7. Goldstein M, Phillips R, DeVincenzo JP, et al. National Perinatal Association 2018 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Prevention Clinical Practice Guideline: an evidence-based interdisciplinary collaboration. Neonatology Today. 2017;12:1-27.
8. Sommer C, Resch B, Simões EA. Risk factors for severe respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection. Open Microbiol J. 2011;5:144-154. doi:10.2174/1874285801105010144
9. Checchia PA, Paes B, Bont L, et al. Defining the risk and associated morbidity and mortality of severe respiratory syncytial virus infection among infants with congenital heart disease. Infect Dis Ther. 2017;6(1):37-56. doi:10.1007/s40121-016-0142-x
10. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in preterm and ill infants. European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI). Published December 2020. Accessed May 24, 2022. https://www.efcni.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/12/RSV_positionpapier_update_2020.pdf
11. Shi T, McAllister DA, O’Brien KL, Simoes EAF, Madhi SA, Gessner BD, et al.; RSV Global Epidemiology Network. Global, regional, and national disease burden estimates of acute lower respiratory infections due to respiratory syncytial virus in young children in 2015: a systematic review and modelling study. Lancet. 2017;390:946–58. 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30938-8
12. WHO strategy to pilot global respiratory syncytial virus surveillance based on the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). World Health Organization. 2017. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://www.who.int/influenza/rsv/WHO_RSV_pilot_strategy_21112017.pdf
13. Sommer C, Resch B, Simões EA. Risk factors for severe respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection. Open Microbiol J. 2011;5(suppl2-M4):144-154. doi:10.2174/1874285801105010144 5. World Health Organization. Preterm birth. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth. World Health Organization. Preterm birth. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth
14. Resch B. Product review on the monoclonal antibody palivizumab for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infection. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017;13(9):2138-2149. doi:10.1080/21645515.2017.1337614

AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (South Africa) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas – Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit astrazeneca.co.za.

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