Picture a woman who has just given birth prematurely. Her baby boy was born by cesarean section, and now she has a surgical incision that needs to heal. Her son, who is in the neonatal intensive care unit, has trouble breathing and regulating his body temperature. Both mother and son are in the process of healing. In order to become well, they need many things that modern medicine can offer. But they also need each other.
When my medical students visit the N.I.C.U. for the first time, they expect to find evidence of our technological prowess, which is considerable. What always surprises them is that one of the most powerful “treatments” in this highly technical space is something almost disarmingly simple: a baby sleeping on someone’s chest.
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