Thailand Nurses Make Tiny Face Shields to Protect Newborns Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Giving birth to newborn babies can be a stressful time for the entire family, but the responsibility is even greater in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. People around the world have been taking and should continue to implement addition safety precautions for themselves and their families, and those they may come into contact with. Many countries worldwide have issued stay-at-home orders, banning all travel that is considered non-essential.

While there have been instances of people selfishly hoarding, not following stay-at-home orders, etc., there have also been heart-warming instances illustrating the humanity of mankind. One such story comes out of Thailand.

Upon the realization that two newborn babies were going to be discharged from the hospital, and were going to be traveling home by way of public transportation or taxi, nurses at Parral 9 Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand devised a creative way to protect the newborns from the Coronavirus for the duration of their trip home. The nurses created unique face shields for the infants. Photos and videos of the mini personal protective equipment for the infants quickly went viral. 

A statement to TIME, provided by the hospital where the nurses are employed said the nurses were “worried about the babies’ well-being and they handcrafted the face shields,” when the babies’ mother explained that she would have to take a taxi or public transport to get home. “The face shields were just for a short-term protection,” the statement added. According to TIME:

In a post on Facebook, the hospital reiterated that these face shields were for a “unique case” just for the babies’ journey home from the hospital and are not usually given to all newborn babies in the hospital. “Because safety is what we care about the highest,” the post said.

According to TIME:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends children aged two and above wear face masks in public to help stop the spread of coronavirus. However, Dr. Jamie Macklin, a pediatric hospitalist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, told TODAY, “Babies and young toddlers have smaller airways… Breathing through a mask can be harder for them. Using a mask on an infant can increase their risk of suffocation.” Experts don’t recommend putting a mask on a child under the age of two.