The Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC) bought new ten newborn manikins which will have a didactic use, not only by students attending undergraduate and postgraduate courses, but also by future parents who attend birth preparation courses. These activities will help parents develop the expected parenting competences.
The real care baby is, according to the designation, a physiological copy of a real baby which requires, from the beginning, the same type of special care and handling as the newborn. If the student does not hold the baby’s head up correctly, or makes a sudden movement, the manikin starts crying and will only stop if his well-being needs are satisfied.
Like a real baby, the new manikins also have to be fed, rocked and burp, and they demonstrate these needs with different types of cries. Since they are so close to reality anatomically, these manikins make it possible for the student to identify the different types of baby cries and the difficulties in satisfying their needs. All of this is possible since the baby’s needs are programmed in a computer (by the teacher or the trainer), according to levels of intensity and periods from 24hours to 4 or 5 days in a row.
The software associated with these manikins creates a report about the care provided (or not provided) and the way in which the baby was treated (the level of satisfaction/effectiveness of the care provided to the baby). Therefore, the teacher will be able to know if the students was more or less dedicated to the “baby”, as well as if the student was more or less efficient in terms of satisfying the baby’s needs.
The manikin includes an identifier (of a father/mother) – the different care needs may only be satisfied if provided by that special person -, two dippers (to change whenever necessary), a device that should be placed next to the student’s chest (in a pocket, for example) and put inside the baby’s mouth in order to simulate breastfeeding and a feeding bottle.
