They longed to hold their fragile NICU babies. A new device made it possible

They longed to hold their fragile NICU babies. A new device made it possible Advertisement Updated: 10:51 AM CST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ By R.A. Schuetz, Evan MacDonald, Houston Chronicle They longed to hold their fragile NICU babies. A new device made it possible Updated: 10:51 AM CST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ By R.A. Schuetz, Evan MacDonald, Houston Chronicle Imahri Simington imagined the birth experience she would have with her first child the way many mothers do: her water breaking, contractions starting, naturally dilating and going to the hospital for a vaginal birth. Then: resting her son, who she already knew would be named Jhosiah, for the very young king in the Bible, against the skin of her chest and feeling the oxytocin wash through her body. The pregnancy had been smooth — until more than two months before he was due. Her feet had swollen worryingly, and Jhosiah didn’t seem to be kicking as much as normal. She drove herself to the hospital, just in case. Advertisement After an emergency C-section in July for severe preeclampsia at 30 weeks, she and Jhosiah’s dad saw staff holding up their son, who weighed a little over 2 pounds. Then she passed out. The next time she saw him, Jhosiah wore a mask that delivered pressurized air into his lungs. There were cords everywhere. And she couldn’t hold him the way she’d imagined so many times, which filled her with sadness. Then, a doctor approached. The hospital was facilitating a new research trial. She could be the first in the United States to try a new device that would let her hold Jhosiah against her skin for as long as she wanted. She could even fall asleep with him on her chest. An hour later, Simington and Jhosiah were nestled together using the Skincubator . It allows parents to hold premature and fragile newborns who need intensive care. Studies have shown skin-to-skin contact has myriad benefits that help newborns grow, such as regulating heart rate and strengthening the immune system. It’s also been shown to reduce stress for parents and help them form deeper connections with their children, said Dr. Jaclyn Ruggiero, a neonatologist at Children’s Memorial Hermann. Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Herminia Jaimes uses the Skincubator to hold her baby at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Houston. Medical staff took out what looked like a parachute or jetpack and strapped it to Simington. Then they put Jhosiah inside. He was warm against her skin. She felt a surge of emotion — happiness and surprise “that this was something that would be possible,” tempering the difficulty of adjusting to the fact that her baby was in the neonatal intensive care unit. “The way I see it,” Ruggiero said of the hospital’s use of the Skincubator, “our goal is, ‘How do we help baby and family find each other again?’… It’s in that relationship that healing happens. It’s in connection that we survive.” 'Really heartwarming': NICU nurse creates handmade Halloween costumes for babies Helping parents during 'a journey of emotion' Skin-to-skin contact, or kangaroo care, plays a vital role in newborns’ development. But many hospitals, especially in the United States, hesitate to allow parents to hold premature babies because doing so could dislodge breathing tubes and IV lines connected to lifesaving medical equipment. Premature babies also need incubators to keep them warm. Children’s Memorial Hermann is the first hospital in the U.S. to use the Skincubator, which was invented in Israel. It’s already helped put parents' and doctors’ minds at ease, Ruggiero said. “The smaller you get, and the tinier you get, and the earlier you get, the more anxious and scared a family will be,” she said. Dorian Ojemen and Tiffany Ikwuagwu understand that fear all too well. The Houston couple were thrilled when they learned they were expecting twins. Everything changed when Ikwuagwu, herself an OB-GYN, started to feel something was off with the pregnancy. An ultrasound showed her cervix was dilated, so she went to Children’s Memorial Hermann for a stitch to keep it closed. She was expecting to go home. Then, early the next morning, her water broke for one of the twins when she was only 23 weeks pregnant. Ikwuagwu spent nearly a month in the hospital, celebrating her birthday there with family and friends. Doctors hoped to delay the births as long as possible because outcomes improve dramatically when premature babies are delivered closer to full term. “I’ve seen other patients in similar situations, and I’ve seen both good outcomes and bad outcomes,” Ikwuagwu said. “Now I was the patient. It was a journey of emotion.” Doctors determined the twins needed to be delivered when Ikwuagwu developed an infection at 26 weeks. Ojemen left the hospital that morning to go to work as a lawyer. He raced back in time for the births of his daughter, Simone, and son, Silas, but the NICU team quickly whisked them away for the lifesaving care they needed. Silas was only 1 pound, 10 ounces, and Simone was slightly bigger at 2 pounds, 6 ounces. They needed to stay in a specialized, high-humidity environment for the first 10 days of their lives while their skin barriers developed. Ikwuagwu and Ojemen could only touch their children through an incubator, using their fingers. So they were intrigued when Ruggiero came to them with the idea of using the Skincubator. At the same time, Ojemen was nervous he might inadvertently harm them while holding them. Those worries dissipated quickly when the NICU team secured a pair of Skincubator devices on the couple’s chests. Ikwuagwu held Simone, and Ojemen held Silas. Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Dorian Ojemen and Tiffany Ikwuagwu use the Skincubator to connect with their newborns. Until that moment, the new father felt like he’d been “tagging along” for the pregnancy and first days of his twins’ lives, offering support but unable to do anything more to help. That changed the moment he became the first father in the world to use the Skincubator to feel his baby’s skin on his chest. “When this was offered, I was like, ‘I’ll try it, but I don’t know if I’m doing anything.’ And then I did it, and I thought, ‘OK, I have some benefit,’” Ojemen said. “I can have a benefit and contribution that doesn’t have to be the same as (their mother’s). But it’s still valuable.” Changing the way you put your baby to bed can save their life, according to new CDC data Looking forward A handful of families have used the Skincubator at Children’s Memorial Hermann as part of the hospital’s preparation for a clinical trial that will study its effectiveness. The first phase of the clinical trial will focus on safety and will involve 60 babies born prematurely, between 25 and 30 weeks, Ruggiero said. Later stages of the trial will focus on its effectiveness in improving skin-to-skin contact during a premature baby’s first week of life. It will also measure whether using the device can reduce rates of stress, anxiety and depression in parents, Ruggiero said. Simington loved the skin-to-skin contact the device allowed because she felt it was a way she could help her son’s health. The first day she used it, she held him for eight hours, unclipping him only when she needed the restroom. She did the same the second day. Jhosiah was growing noticeably stronger. Medical staff decided he no longer needed the pressurized air. Within two weeks, he’d outgrown the Skincubator, which is designed only for the smallest babies — under 4.4 pounds. One day, she may help others use the device. She recently completed her nursing degree and had already planned to work in either labor and delivery or the NICU. Now, Jhosiah’s at home in Cypress and weighs more than 9 pounds. His mother loves the size of his appetite, comparing it to that of a football player, if a football player were 20 inches tall. She proudly watches him hold up his head and try to roll over. He’s already a good s