************Recent Updates from the Perelman School of Medicine************
For Derek MacMath, it’s The Poky Little Puppy. Marybeth Keiser prefers Earthquack! While reading these books is definitely not part of the curriculum for these first-year students at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, it is, in a sense, a part of their education. MacMath, Keiser, and other students from the School of Medicine volunteer their time reading to premature infants as part of Babies and Books, a new program in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Studies show associations between what babies are exposed to before birth — starting from as early as five months in the pregnancy — and their intellectual development. Soon-to-be moms are encouraged to talk, read, and in general, communicate with their babies while pregnant. But babies born too early lose this important part of their growth. Reading to them helps them gain back what they missed because of their premature birth. “These babies can be years behind their peers before they even start elementary school,” said Laura Rubinos, MD, a neonatal-perinatal fellow who worked with members of Neonatology and the CHOP resident advocacy group to create the program. The program also partnered with the Rotary Club of Philadelphia and other community organizations that helped get over 1,000 books donated.
