When it comes to caring for a baby or young child there is so much to know and think about! It can be completely overwhelming for some people, I know, I’ve been there!!
Like most things in life, if you’ve never done it before, it’s hard to know what you don’t know. You need to consider what you might have to do in an emergency with your baby or young child. This little person comes into the world completely relying on you to keep them safe and healthy. That can be a lot of pressure and very stressful.
Often antenatal classes educate expectant parents on subjects such as pregnancy and labour in detail. But what is not often covered in enough detail to make parents feel confident, is what to do if something is wrong with your baby or child. What if they get sick or injured? Would you know what to do? When you think about it, how likely is it that a new parent with no previous baby or child experience would know what to do?
Well, that’s the very reason My Baby Basics was created. To enable parents and carers to be educated with the skills and knowledge to save their baby or young child’s life. My Baby Basics is the only locally based Baby and Child First Aid and CPR education service in our region. I want parents in our area to be empowered!
While I absolutely hope you will never ever need to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or First Aid, I want you to know what to do just in case. I never want you to need to do First Aid and not have any idea what to do. If a baby or child isn’t breathing, any attempt at CPR is better than doing nothing at all. According to the recent Royal Children’s Hospital National
Child Health Poll, one in four Australian parents report they are not confident to administer CPR to a child. Basically, if you feel confident because you’ve been educated, evidence shows you’re much more likely to act, resulting in a much better outcome for your baby or child
My Baby Basics is based in Newcastle, and I happily travel to the Hunter Valley, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and the Central Coast. My Baby Basics is my passion, I run my workshops because they save lives. I want to spread the knowledge of how to save a life far and wide.
So, you may be wondering who I am. Well, my name is Sharyn Di Donna and I’m the sole owner and operator of My Baby Basics. I am a Registered Nurse with 19 years’ experience, specifically focused on critical care for babies and children. I’ve trained in both Adult and Paediatric Intensive Care Nursing, Paediatric Emergency Nursing, and have a Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Emergency Nursing which I completed when I worked in the Emergency Department at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick. I’ve always loved educating, and never missed an opportunity to share my experience and knowledge with the parents of my patients.
I’m also very grateful that I have some little people of my own. I transitioned out of the shift work life of a nurse when I had my own gorgeous children, who are now 9 and 7 years old. I now work as a Primary Healthcare Nurse in a General Practice in Newcastle, where I get to treat all manner of baby and child illnesses and injuries with my amazing colleagues. This gives me many opportunities to educate concerned parents on issues such as fever management and head injuries.
So why do parents book a My Baby Basics Baby and Child First Aid and CPR workshop??
- Fear of not knowing what to do in an emergency…
- They have had a scare with their baby or child such as a choking episode…
- They want to be prepared just in case…
What do my clients say once they have completed the My Baby Basics workshop?
‘I feel so much more confident and able to know what to do in an emergency…’
‘I learnt so much more than just first aid…’
‘I am so glad I did this; I only wish I’d done it sooner…’
‘My child choked the other day, and I knew what to do because of doing the My Baby Basics workshop…’
My Baby Basics workshops are aimed at empowering parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and really anyone who is involved in caring for babies or young children. By doing my workshop my clients are armed with the skills and knowledge to know how to save a baby or child’s life, learning basic life support as per the Australian Resuscitation Council’s guidelines. Even more so they leave knowing how to recognise and respond to an injury or illness in a baby or child so that an emergency can be averted if possible.
The workshops cover Basic Life Support, CPR, Choking, Fever and Seizures, Burns, Head and Limb Injuries, Allergies and Anaphylaxis, Button Batteries, Poisoning, Illness Recognition, and Drowning. My Baby Basics workshops focus a lot on prevention also, so remember, it’s more than just a First Aid class. I educate parents on the safe set up of the home environment, so that things like poisoning or drowning can be prevented. It is so important to have good habits in place so you know your home is a safe place for your child and the majority of injuries can’t occur. At My Baby Basics I believe prevention is always the best treatment.
I offer my workshops in your home at a time convenient to you and your baby, most often suitable for family groups or mother’s groups. And if a home workshop doesn’t suit you, I also offer open workshops every month at a local location such as Charlestown. Look out for more locations coming soon. Head to my website at www.mybabybasics.com.au or contact me via Facebook – My Baby Basics, for more information.
Help me spread the word and keep our babies and children safe.
https://www.facebook.com/mybabybasics/
My Baby Basics
Bibliography:
https://www.rchpoll.org.au/polls/summer-safety-how-ready-are-australian-parents/
