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The post Three Songs / Anna Beniel first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

What does the role include:

Locating companies, foundations, and businesses related to social or medical activities.

Mapping organizations that can take part in supporting the association – financially, logistically, or by donating products.

Assisting in transferring information to the association's resource development team.

Independent work in collaboration and support of the professional team.

Who is this suitable for:

For a volunteer with an orientation towards research and information seeking, familiarity with the world of nonprofits or resource mobilization – and equally important, a big heart and a desire to help premature babies and their families.

Volunteering is done remotely, with flexible hours.

Interested in taking part in the action?
Register at the link>>>https://wkf.ms/43mXk3R

The post Come help us grow – volunteer to find supporters and partners for the HaHav Association first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

If you have a flair for writing, an understanding of the world of content and social media, and a desire to promote meaningful social action – this is exactly the place for you.

What does the role include:

Ongoing management of the association's LinkedIn page.

Writing and editing professional and personal posts, in collaboration with the association's staff.

Creating collaborations and relationships with professional and business bodies.

Promoting visibility and exposure of the association's activities and efforts on behalf of the premature baby community in Israel.

Who is this suitable for:

For a volunteer with high written expression skills, creativity, responsibility, basic knowledge of LinkedIn, and an interest in the worlds of nonprofits, health, and society.

Volunteering is flexible and can be done remotely, with ongoing support from the association's communications team.

Interested in taking part?
Register at the link>>>https://wkf.ms/43mXk3R

The post Volunteer to manage the LinkedIn page of the Lahav Association 💜 first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

We are currently looking for a volunteer to answer the phone twice a week (about an hour each time).

Volunteering is done from home, allowing you to be a significant resource for parents in critical moments.

Suitable for an empathetic, patient person with good interpersonal skills and a desire to help.

Interested in joining the hotline team?
Register at the link >>> https://wkf.ms/43mXk3R And we will get back to you as soon as possible!

The post For volunteering – the Lahav Association hotline first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

The task:
Leading exposure days for the "Octopus for Every Premature" project as part of the "Geffen" program in elementary and high schools (personal involvement) in central Israel.

Volunteer details:
Physical arrival for 2–3 days of exposure at schools, in the morning, from September to November (by prior arrangement)

Setting up an activity stand: flyers, roll-ups, and knitted octopuses

Explaining the project goals to students

Registering all students (including phone numbers) who are interested in taking part in the project

Providing value to the premature community through creative and meaningful activities

Full training will be provided to the appropriate volunteer, including informational materials and support from the association.

We are looking for a communicative, pleasant person who believes in educational work and wants to make an impact from the heart.

The activity will take place in schools in central Israel.

Interested? Register at the link. And we will contact you as soon as possible.

For details about the project

The post Volunteer for the "Octopus for Every Premature" project🪼 first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

The role includes:

Initial response to inquiries (with a pre-prepared message)

Reference to training materials and website

Maintaining warm and welcoming contact with new volunteers.

Volunteering from home is convenient, simple and of great value!

Want to join? Write to us at the link
And we will get back to you as soon as possible.

The post Volunteer Applications Coordinator 🪼 first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

The project is part of the work plan for 2026, and aims to expand the project's exposure in schools and strengthen students' involvement in the premature community.

Areas of responsibility:

Marketing the project to schools nationwide, in order to expose as many schools as possible to the project.

Registration of schools interested in participating in the project.

Coordination of exposure days with contacts at schools and with volunteers.

Overall responsibility for volunteers who will attend open days and exposure days in schools.

Recruiting additional volunteers as needed to ensure the success of the exposure days.

What we offer:

Training and close support from the association.

A meaningful work experience and an opportunity to lead a national project that impacts students and parents.

Opportunity to develop management, organization and team leadership skills.

Suitable for you if:

You are a communicative, responsible person who is highly motivated to make an impact.

I like working with people and coordinating activities.

Want to be part of a unique and meaningful educational project?

Interested in joining and making an impact? Register here

The post Leads the "Octopus for Every Premature" project in schools 🪼 first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

Premature babies are born with their sensory systems, regulation, and response still in the early stages of development. They are sensitive to environmental stimuli – light, sound, touch, and movement – so it is important to introduce them to the world in a gradual, sensitive, and rhythmic manner. Sensory regulation is the baby’s ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to sensory stimuli in a balanced and coordinated manner. In premature babies, the regulatory system is still developing and it is sometimes difficult for them to cope with strong or multiple stimuli.

Occupational therapy is a central profession in supporting premature babies and its goal, among other things, is to teach parents to adapt the environment and stimuli to the baby's needs, to identify signs of overwhelm or fatigue, and to assist in the development of his regulation and coordination.

Practical tips for parents:

• Speak and sing in a calm voice, limit unnecessary environmental noise. Maintaining eye contact and speaking, for example during diaper changes or feedings, stimulates attention, confidence, and memory.
• Encourage gentle, skin-to-skin contact, as well as contact with objects of different textures. This exposure contributes to the development of the sense of touch and eye-hand and eye-mouth coordination.
• Offer simple black and white toys and geometric shapes, about 25 cm from the face.
• Allow for “tummy time” on a soft surface, paying attention to signs of fatigue. “Tummy time” encourages movement and helps strengthen neck and back muscles.
• Maintaining an orderly light-dark cycle – natural light during the day and darkness at night – contributes to sleep regulation and the development of the visual system.
• It is important to avoid overstimulation and expose yourself to one stimulus at a time in a quiet and calm environment.

The basis is daily observation of the baby's reactions: looking away, freezing, crying, or twitching - can indicate sensory overload. In contrast, eye contact, calm movements, and exploration indicate readiness for further stimulation.

Important to remember: Premature babies are at increased risk of developmental delays, especially those born very prematurely, with low birth weight or low Apgar scores. Therefore, developmental monitoring should be monitored and early intervention should be considered if necessary.

However, most premature babies develop well, especially when they receive a supportive, consistent, and loving environment that helps them grow and achieve impressive achievements.

The post Sensory regulation in premature infants first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

Yarden Levin Shikartz

When a newborn is born before 37 weeks (premature), not all of the body's systems are developed properly, which can lead to long-term consequences. Immaturity of the digestive system can lead to necrotizing enteritis (NEC).

 Why is this happening?

The actual cause of necrotizing enteritis is unknown, but the immaturity of the digestive system is at the center. This immaturity is manifested by insufficiently developed intestines, poor secretion of gastric juices and digestive enzymes. Also, the intestinal mucosa can, under inflammatory conditions, lead to its erosion.^[4]The earlier the week of birth, the greater the immaturity of the digestive system and therefore, the greater the chance of necrotizing enteritis.

 What's going on?

The symptoms of necrotizing enteritis, which usually appear about 8-10 days after birth, include a swollen abdomen, bloody stools, and difficulty eating. These symptoms can occur in varying degrees of severity, depending on the degree of inflammation.^[6].

 prevention

Prevention of necrotizing enteritis is based primarily on preserving the good bacteria in the digestive system, with the help of:

• nursing  Breast milk has special properties that protect the digestive system. Breast milk also encourages the growth of friendly bacteria.^{[7][3][5][6][2][1]}.
• Probiotics  There are many studies that indicate the use of probiotics, which contain friendly bacteria, as reducing the rate and severity of necrotizing fasciitis and preventing its occurrence.^{[7][3][5][6][2][1]}.

Sources

1. Campos-Martinez, AM, Expósito-Herrera, J., Gonzalez-Bolívar, M., Fernández-Marin, E., & Uberos, J. (2022). Evaluation of risk and preventive factors for necrotizing enterocolitis in premature newborns. A systematic review of the literature. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 10.
2. Colarelli, AM, Barbian, ME, & Denning, PW (2024). Prevention Strategies and Management of Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Current Treatment Options in Pediatrics, 10, 126–146.
3. Hall, NJ, Eaton, S., & Pierro, A. (2013). Necrotizing enterocolitis: Prevention, treatment, and outcome. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 48(12), 2359–2367.
4. Hu, X., Liang, H., Li, F., Zhang, R., Zhu, Y., Zhu, X., & Xu, Y. (2024). Necrotizing enterocolitis: Current understanding of the prevention and management. Pediatric Surgery International, 40(1).
5. Hunter, CJ, Upperman, JS, Ford, HR, & Camerini, V. (2008). Understanding the susceptibility of the premature infant to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Pediatric Research, 63(2), 117–123.
6. Jin, Y.-T., Duan, Y., Deng, X.-K., & Lin, J. (2019). Prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants - an updated review. World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, 8(2), 23–32.
7. Krasan, G. (2006). Oral probiotics prevent necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight neonates. Yearbook of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine, 2024, 224–226.

The post Necrotizing enteritis (NEC) first appeared on Lahav Association - for the premature babies in Israel.

Would you be willing to use it? And what if I said it was a shot?

My name is Dr. Oded Bodner, I have an MD/PhD from the Technion and specialize in family medicine at Maccabi, but first and foremost I am a parent of two children, the eldest of whom was premature.

I can answer that if I had the option, I would be very happy to use it, and I'm sure my wife would be too.

So unfortunately, that kind of intervention doesn't exist yet. There are all kinds of ways to reduce the risk of preterm birth, but it depends on the cause and many factors that we have no control over and many things that we still don't understand in the medical world.

But, I can say that there is a significant tool that you as parents can give your children to prevent many diseases, which can cause severe disability and even premature death.

This is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest discoveries of humanity and modern medicine – vaccines.

In fact, this intervention is so effective that there are diseases that have almost disappeared from the world and that many doctors know about mainly through books.

Despite this, I can say that in my years as a doctor and also in my medical studies, I have encountered diseases for which there are effective vaccines, such as measles and whooping cough, which occasionally flare up, especially in areas where there is relatively low vaccination coverage.

This is the principle underlying "herd immunity," in which once a certain percentage of people are vaccinated, the ability of the pathogen to circulate among the population is significantly reduced, but when this coverage drops below a certain threshold, an outbreak can occur.

On the other hand, there are viruses, such as the flu, that undergo frequent changes, and therefore, to achieve good protection against them, it is necessary to get vaccinated every winter season.

There are many pathogens for which we do not yet have a vaccine, but which are constantly being developed with the aim of improving the health of all of us.

RSV is an example of a virus that causes respiratory illness, especially in young infants belonging to risk groups such as premature babies. Today, there is a passive vaccine given once a month during the winter months that aims to provide protection against it.

In recent years, an inactivated RSV vaccine has been developed that is given once a year and is significantly cheaper, and has therefore already been approved in the US by the FDA and included in the routine vaccinations by the ACIP for all infants. There is also an active vaccine for pregnant women, similar to the pertussis vaccine. These two vaccines are not yet available in Israel, and I hope they will be included in the health basket soon.

It is important to remember that premature infants are a group at greater risk for morbidity, and therefore the recommendation to provide vaccinations in most cases* is even stronger than for the general population.

The great paradox of vaccines lies precisely in their great effectiveness. Their ability to reduce morbidity to such a significant extent that many parents (who, fortunately, are no longer familiar with these serious diseases) are more afraid of the procedure itself and of possible side effects. However, it is worth knowing that vaccines in general are considered very safe because they undergo close and extensive monitoring. Additional reasons for avoiding vaccines stem mainly from the lack of reliable information, concerns about an action such as an injection, and the lack of understanding that even avoiding an action has the potential to cause harm.

It is difficult to study in depth a subject that scientists and doctors study for years to become experts in.

At the end of the day, just as we trust our doctors when we or our children are sick, that they will help us recover, and just as we trusted the doctors who devotedly cared for our children when they were premature, so it would be right to trust the scientific method and to trust science, scientists, and doctors who recommend vaccinations out of deep knowledge and understanding and out of a sincere and genuine desire to do good for us and our children.

If you still have doubts or questions, I invite you to listen to the lecture I gave on the subject (1) and to reliable sources of information that can help answer frequently asked questions (2-9).

*There are rare situations that will prevent certain vaccinations, so it is important to consult with the treating doctor who knows your children.

List of sources:

(1) Lecture on vaccines, Dr. Oded Bodner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3gl8VdvXYM&t=18s

Israeli websites:

(2) Madaat Association: https://www.midaat.org.il/
(3) Facebook group "Talking about vaccines"You can ask questions and professionals in the field will answer.
(4) The Israeli Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department website: https://www.chisunim.co.il/
(5) Vaccination briefing: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/policies/vaccine-guidelines-main

English websites:

(6) WHO- https://www.who.int/health-topics/vaccines-and-immunization#tab=tab_1
(7) The history of vaccines: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/a-brief-history-of-vaccination
(8) CDC recommendations

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/

(9) ACIP

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/recommendations.html

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