DoubleHeart in South Korea Presents Development Support Class for Preterm Babies and their Families

Korea

According to 2022 statistics, around 10% of babies in South Korea are born preterm. Being born earlier than expected, preterm babies are often less physically developed and require involved care from medical professionals and parents after their birth. In 2024, South Korean society also faced the unforeseen challenge of a “medical strike,” which made it difficult to secure reservations at hospitals even for preterm babies and other children, not just patients in general.

Under these circumstances, parents of preterm babies faced the dual anxiety of worrying about both their child’s development and their inability to receive specialist advice. In response, DoubleHeart made the decision to build on its existing product offerings by offering concrete support as well.

A Development Support Class Co-Created with Specialists

What DoubleHeart planned and presented was a development support class for preterm babies called “A Little Early, A Little More Quickly.” The name embodies a warm desire for babies born a little early to grow up quickly and without anxiety.

The class was held on October 22, 2024, with a total of nine families attending. The curriculum was overseen and prepared by Dr. Son Myung-moon, a pediatric physical therapist who has offered education programs for parents and guardians for fifteen years in the NICUs of some of South Korea’s most prestigious medical establishments, including Samsung Seoul Hospital, and is also an exclusive writer for DoubleHeart Magazine.

The program of direct instruction by specialists included:

1.Theoretical instruction

A general introduction to preterm babies and the usual development process

2.Exercising and movement

Exercise to strengthen the muscles babies need to move, plus practice in concrete techniques making it easy to perform functional movements like crawling

3.Practical exercises

Instruction in exercise methods that are easy to continue at home

These sessions were interspersed with ten-minute Q&A sessions so that parents could pose their individual queries to a specialist and receive answers from that perspective, putting their minds at ease.

Expert Advice Brings Peace of Mind

This comment made it clear that the “A Little Early, A Little More Quickly” class not only provided hints on parenting to families, it also had the potential to provide moral support and peace of mind at times when going to the hospital was difficult.

We plan to continue providing this development support class and, through these efforts, helping families with preterm children embrace parenting with peace of mind.

The Pigeon Group will continue working to provide both products and specialist support as part of our efforts to help create a future where all babies are helped to develop and grow, regardless of the conditions of their birth.

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