Methodist Healthcare participates in the Annual Babies with Books National Read-a-thon

San Antonio, Texas — In honor of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Awareness Month, Methodist Children’s Hospital, Methodist Hospital Metropolitan, and Methodist Hospital Stone Oak have joined together to support the social-emotional development of babies in the NICUs at Methodist Healthcare. Each hospital is participating in the annual Babies with Books Read-a-thon, a worldwide, friendly competition to strengthen the bonds of NICU families and promote reading. 

Having a child in the NICU can be an extremely stressful and overwhelming experience for families, especially as they come to terms with the specialized care their baby needs, the skills they need to learn, and the details of their child's illness. This Read-a-thon is just one example of how the NICU teams at Methodist Healthcare provide exceptional, high-quality care for their smallest patients while easing stress for the families. Reading to babies in the NICU offers numerous benefits, including strengthening their senses, promoting brain growth, and enhancing language and listening skills. The NICU teams are encouraging families to instill a lifelong love of reading and books in their children's lives, starting from birth. 

Throughout the 11-day reading competition, NICU nurses will spend quality time reading to babies, providing books for NICU parents to read to their children, and even setting up on-site libraries to encourage reading after the competition.

Methodist Healthcare delivers more babies than any other hospital system in San Antonio. Learn more about Methodist Healthcare’s women’s services and their commitment to keeping mothers and their babies safe throughout the delivery experience.