Tata Consultancy Services and South Western Sydney Local Health District have announced the launch of Neonatal Care and Me, an app for the parents of preterm babies, designed and developed by TCS. 

Preterm babies have special needs, so parents and caregivers need to be equipped with vital information on how to best care for their child.

Clinical staff at the South Western Local Health District wanted to effectively impart specific skills and education to support the care of preterm babies.  

The Neonatal Care and Me app helps parents and caregivers by complementing the high-quality care, help and support they receive in Neonatal Intensive Care Units and Special Care Nurseries.

It delivers skills and training, and offers much needed guidance about caring for preterm babies during and after their stay at the hospital.

The app shares practical tips to help people care for their early bundle of joy including taking baby’s temperature, tube feeding, changing an oxygen probe and tracking age and weight on the growth chart. 

The app has been developed by TCS Interactive, in collaboration with experienced nursing and allied health clinicians from neonatal intensive care units and special care nurseries at hospitals across South Western Sydney Local Health District.

It has been hosted in a unique, secure environment in TCS’ Sydney availability zone, using TCS Enterprise Cloud, to ensure data privacy for end users. The app is designed in the colours blue and white, to reflect attributes of a care setting such as trust, stability, and tranquillity. 

Patrick Bodegraven General Manager, Public Sector, TCS.says “As leaders in innovation, we are passionate about leveraging technology to address real-world problems.”

“When we heard about the challenges clinical staff at South Western Sydney Local Health District were facing, we knew technology could enhance how they support and educate parents and caregivers of preterm babies, during their hospital stay and then at home.”

“The app is easy to use and is designed to put the needs of the patient first, empowering parents and caregivers to learn at their own pace,” says Bodegraven

Neonatal Care and Me has been piloted with parents from Miracle Babies, an Australian organisation supporting premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them.