She undertook her undergraduate training in Edinburgh and developed a particular interest in swallowing, leading to her studying for an MSc at City University.
Following several years working with adults in both neurological and neuro-surgical settings, she brought many of the skills and knowledge gained in this clinical area to her work with neonates and young children with neurological involvement. Over the past 25 years she has worked exclusively with premature infants and high risk neonates and their families.
She was introduced to NIDCAP by Inga Warren and was encouraged to begin her training. Her work in supporting babies and their families in establishing feeding has been enhanced by her NIDCAP Training. Additionally, when applied clinically, this approach assists in both the identification and management of gastro-oesophageal reflux and also informs therapeutic intervention for feeding problems. Currently, she has particular interest in promoting comfortable digestion to facilitate the baby’s transfer to oral feeding; for example, modifying the technique of giving tube feeds to support the transition to breast or bottle feeding.
Gillian progressed to becoming a NIDCAP Trainer and works collaboratively with Inga Warren, Senior Trainer at the UK NIDCAP Centre. She is a national advisor for therapies and regularly teaches both nationally and internationally. She was appointed OBE in June 2015 |
‘The way to a baby’s brain is through his stomach’
Consideration of non-pharmacological strategies to support comfortable digestion and promote neurodevelopment in preterm infants
There is considerable discussion within neonatal teams as to the existence or otherwise of gastro-oesophageal reflux in preterm infants. Meantime, babies demonstrate their frequent challenge of digesting milk comfortably, particularly before oral feeding starts. The impact of this is to influence physiological stability, including weaning from respiratory support and consequently to have a negative bearing on neuro-development. Not least, discomfort when digesting feeds causes distress for both the baby and their family.
Examples will be given of babies’ behavioural cues which reflect their challenge when digesting feeds. Developmental strategies which aim to both support the baby’s own efforts to digest comfortably and to facilitate transfer to subsequent oral feeding will be considered. |