We are currently raising resources for the project – come be partners in a tremendous impact for the benefit of premature babies and their families**

The association's vision

Achieving continuous improvement in the quality of care In premature babies, so as to reduce the long-term consequences of prematurity on the lives of premature babies in the future.

The association's goals To work for premature babies in Israel at every level Which affects their lives and the lives of their family members:

• Uploading ads – Public awareness and access to information on premature problems and the plight of premature babies in Israel, including the production of initial information and guidance materials to provide support and information to parents of premature babies during their hospitalization and prior to their discharge.

• Legislative Advocacy & Rights Protection Related to the rights and well-being of premature babies
• Support and assistance for the well-being of premature babies and their families – Operating a website, a support group in various media, a hotline active 24/7 to answer questions and needs of parents and families, as well as assistance with institutional factors and handling individual problems.

Project goals

• Raise awareness and make knowledge and information accessible to anyone who cares for premature babies and their families.
• To provide the best, professional and continuous response to parents, teams at local neonatal centers and teams in the community
• Significantly improving the quality and level of care provided to premature babies – a mission that is at the core of the vision of the Lahav Association.

15,000 premature babies are born in Israel every year, about 101% of all newborns.

Background and needs

Premature birth social workers and/or psychologists across the country accompany parents who are in a vulnerable situation physically, medically, emotionally, mentally and/or financially, as they deal with parenthood (sometimes for the first time) around situations of crisis, trauma and illness. It is not without reason that premature birth means treating newborns with defects, syndromes or developmental delays. In this crisis situation, social workers constitute the first line of defense in providing care and emotional support.

The heavy workload in premature babies does not allow us to reach all parents of premature babies, and some may be discharged from the hospital without ever meeting a social worker or psychologist even once.

In addition, unfortunately, today it is almost impossible to continue emotional support for parents after discharge from maternity leave or, conversely, after death.

Parents are left torn apart, alone, confused, and often helpless in the transition home – especially in the event of loss.

The association's solution: the embrace of Lahav – A support package that includes:  

1. Close support for parents in regional groups, ongoing support, answering questions, addressing individual problems, and assistance in managing the medical file.
2. Support and processing of the birth experience individually and/or in a group.
3. Training, lectures and accompaniment of professional teams in hospitals (high-risk pregnancy, obstetrics, prematurity) and in the community (Tipot Halav nurses, child development teams, pediatricians, etc.)

The project's target population:

• At-risk pregnancies – pregnant women who are concerned about giving birth prematurely turn to us for support and assistance.

• Parents of premature babies – usually young parents in their first parenthood or parenthood that is even more challenging if there are adult children at home.

• Premature birth teams – although we are intimately familiar with the world of premature births, under unusual pressures and burnout, we would like to regularly convey to them the difficulties of the families and how important it is to maintain empathy and sensitivity.

• Health insurance and milk drop teams – do not always know the unique needs of premature babies and their parents, and would benefit greatly from making information and tools available to assist families.
• Child development centers – are well aware of the needs of families and premature babies, but are generally under unusual workloads and can also benefit quite a bit from the involvement of other professional factors in the picture.

The association's support will improve the quality and level of care for premature babies and their families by:

1. Understanding the unique needs of families, from prenatal to postnatal to school age and beyond
2. Showing sensitivity and empathy for the unique situation and obtaining a comprehensive picture of the premature baby/parent's experience
3. Reducing stressful reactions, reducing parental anxiety, and improving the parent-child bond
4. Raising awareness of the rights and all monitoring required for premature babies to prevent developmental delays and/or early intervention when such arise.

Today, the project is carried out on a limited and voluntary basis.

We invite you to take part and be our partners in a significant change for every premature baby and every family in Israel.