Heidi and Paul Jackson's twin girls, Brielle and Kyrie, were born October 17, 1995, 12 weeks ahead of their due date. Standard hospital practice is to place preemie twins in separate incubators to reduce the risk of infection. that was done for the Jackson girls in the neonatal intensive care unit at The Medical Center of Central Massachusetts in Worcester.

Kyrie, the larger sister at two pounds, three ounces, quickly began gaining weight and calmly sleeping her newborn days away. But Brielle, who weighed only two pounds at birth, couldn't keep up with her. She had breathing and heart-rate problems. The oxygen level in her blood was low, and her weight gain was slow.

Suddenly, on November 12, Brielle went into critical condition. She began gasping for breath, and her face and stick-thin arms and legs turned bluish-gray. Her heart rate was way up, and she got hiccups, a dangerous sign that her body was under stress. Her parents watched, terrified that she might die.

Nurse Gayle Kasparian tried everything she could think of to stabilize Brielle. She suctioned her breathing passages and turned up the oxygen flow to the incubator. Still Brielle squirmed and fussed as her oxygen intake plummeted and her heart rate soared.

Then Kasparian remembered something she had heard from a colleague. It was a procedure, common in parts of Europe but almost unheard of in this country, that called for double-bedding multiple-birth babies, especially preemies.

Kasparian's nurse manager, Susan Fitzback, was away at a conference, and the arrangement was unorthodox.

But Kasparian decided to take the risk.

"Let me just try putting Brielle in with her sister to see if that helps," she said to the alarmed parents. "I don't know what else to do."

The Jacksons quickly gave the go-ahead, and Kasparian slipped the squirming baby into the incubator holding the sister she hadn't seen since birth. Then Kasparian and the Jacksons watched.

No sooner had the door of the incubator closed then Brielle snuggled up to Kyrie - and calmed right down. Within minutes Brielle's blood-oxygen readings were the best they had been since she was born. As she dozed, Kyrie wrapped her tiny arm around her smaller sibling.

 

By coincidence, the conference Fitzback was attending included a presentation on double-bedding. This is something I want to see happen at The Medical Center, she thought. But it might be hard making the change. On her return she was doing rounds when the nurse caring for the twins that morning said, "Sue, take a look in that isolette over there."

"I can't believe this," Fitzback said. "This is so beautiful."

"You mean, we can do it?" asked the nurse.

"Of course we can," Fitzback replied.

Today a handful of institutions around the country are adopting double-bedding, which seems to reduce the number of hospital days. The practice is growing quickly, even though the first scientific studies on it didn't begin until this past January.

But Heidi and Paul Jackson don't need any studies to know that double-bedding helped Brielle. She is thriving. In fact, now that the two girls are home, they still steep together - and still snuggle.

 

 

愛、生命、擁抱

 

諸不知，愛人的擁抱能迅速傳遞情感，還有益於老年人的身心健康。

江林月嬌

1995年11月18日《伍斯特電報和公報》(Worchester Telegram & Gazette)、1996年6月美國發行的《生活》雜誌(Life Magazine)，以及1996年5月美國《讀者文摘》(Reader's Digest)都分別介紹了一個真實感人的生命故事──「救命的擁抱」(The Rescuing Hug)。

 

愛的觸摸 救命的擁抱

 

1995年的10月17日，在麻塞諸塞紀念醫院(Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA)裡，一對雙胞女嬰凱麗和比麗'傑克森(Kyrie and Brielle Jackson)於預產期前三個月提早出生。

為了避免早產兒交互感染，院方將這對孿生姐妹分別放在早產兒育嬰箱中照顧。

這對出生時僅有2磅重的孿生姐妹，姐姐凱麗健康情況良好，能夠自主呼吸與哭叫，體重逐漸增至2鎊3盎司；然而妹妹比麗不僅沒有絲毫的增長，而且一直有心跳不穩、體溫偏低和血缺氧等問題。

護士蓋爾'凱絲培利(Gayle Kasparian)眼看比麗的健康每下愈況，嘗試用觸摸、抽吸鼻腔等各種方式，卻無法使儀器上的指標歸回正常；突然想起歐洲有些國家，曾經對多產兒共用一個保溫箱照顧的相關報導。

蓋爾見比麗的生命垂危，而上司蘇珊'菲斯貝克(Susan'Fitzback)正在開會，她決定冒著違反醫院規定之危險，放手一搏。

「讓我試著將比麗和她的姐姐放在一起，看看是否有幫助…」她對焦慮不安又不知所措的傑克森夫婦建議，「我不知道我還能做什麼。」

傑克森先生馬上答應，蓋爾雙手滑入保溫箱手袋中，將妹妹比麗移近姐姐凱麗的身邊。保溫箱旁，傑克森夫婦和蓋爾護士凝神靜視。從一出生就被分離，現在又重新被放在一起並排伏臥的孿生姐妹，妹妹比麗的小軀體本能地向姐姐凱麗的身邊緊靠過去。

那時，奇妙的事於焉展開。

原本全身泛紫的比麗，膚色逐漸轉成嫩紅，監視儀器表顯示，原先血中含氧指數偏低也逐漸回升、心跳趨於平穩，體溫恢復正常。

更加奇妙的是，凱麗(圖片中有紅點者)細嫩的胳膊出人意外地環繞在妹妹的背上。

巧合的是，菲斯貝克此次出席的會議包括介紹「早產兒雙重保溫箱」(double-bedding)，而她老早就期望醫療中心能有這樣的設備與嘗試，只是改變帶來的變數，讓人裹足不前，不敢輕易嘗試。

蘇珊'菲斯貝克一開完會出來，立即回到早晨剛探視過的孿生兒房，走道上她聽見：「蘇！快！妳快過來看…」

「我無法相信」菲斯貝克說：「這實在是太美妙了。」

「妳是說，我們這樣做是合法的嗎？」蓋爾護士問。

「當然！我們可以。」菲斯貝克回答。

隔周，比麗平安脫離險境，與一般的嬰兒一樣活潑健康地成長。

這個故事從1995年起，不但報章雜誌相繼報導過，姐妹擁抱的照片以「救命的擁抱」(The Rescuing Hug) 在網路上盛傳。

 

神奇的擁抱提高女性激素

 

孿生兒擁抱有拯救性命之神奇功效，對於兩性間的擁抱，具有什麼樣的效果呢？

美國北卡羅來納州大學研究小組，針對38對受試情侶進行研究，結果顯示，擁抱能增進雙方的親密感催產素(oxytocin )荷爾蒙，進而有效地克服抑鬱症和孤獨感；此外，擁抱亦有助於降低血壓、減輕壓力，並且能減少心臟病風險。

這項研究過程是將受試情侶們分別安排在不同的房間裡，先測量記錄其血壓指數、皮質激素和後葉催產素含量與壓力等；接著，讓38對情侶並排同坐於一室，讓他們回想過去倆人共同渡過最甜美的時光。

在回憶幸福片段時刻之後，情侶們一同觀賞研究人員放映的5分鐘浪漫愛情故事；最後，再讓一對對男女單獨相處和交談10分鐘。以上「步驟」一一完成後，受試情侶相互擁抱，擁抱時間約20秒。

研究人員根據實驗結果得出以下結論：受試情侶擁抱後其性激素含量明顯增加；其中，戀人體內分泌的性激素含量比一般男女朋友之含量更高。

除此之外，女性血液中的激素含量特別高，血壓也有明顯的改善。此一研究結果揭示，經常擁抱有助於降低心臟病發生的機率。

擁抱，對於女性而言，能緩解身心壓力；女性自擁抱中獲益之程度比男性大，血壓下降幅度也較為明顯。

類似的研究更發現，僅有誠心、帶有真情的擁抱才能延年益壽，虛情假意的擁抱則無此功效。

 

治療性擁抱有益身心

 

人類對擁抱之需求，有原始本能、性格智力發展和精神撫慰等三點需求。人類行為學研究證明，一個人從生下，就蒙褓抱；自出母胎，便蒙懷搋的孩子，其性格與智力成長都有較好的發展。反之，缺乏擁抱的孩子，不僅性格易偏向孤僻，心智發展也受損。

治療性的擁抱接觸，已被視為醫療的基本工具，除了用來解除焦慮、緊張、沮喪，更能強化病人的求生意志，幫助早產兒發育成長；目前許多醫療人員都接受這種訓練。

擁抱治療不只是為了孤獨或情感受傷的人，對一般人也有促進健康、快樂和安定感的效益；可驅走惡魔，給予溫暖與支持，讓人認真專注、恢復活力。

擁抱是心靈真情的表露，更是愛心火花的迸發；當別人有痛苦、無法解決的難題臨到時，獻上擁抱成為體貼、安慰的一劑良藥。擁抱是情感交流的重要方式，是擁抱者與被擁抱者相互進行彼此獲益的歷程。

擁抱是開放自己，表達心中的愛、支持、關懷、安全感和喜樂，同時觸摸對方心理的需要。擁抱是慰藉心靈的「雞湯」，是治癒身心傷害的良方；擁抱更是發展身心健康的最佳補品。沒有人喜歡孤獨或蒼涼，無論東西方，嬰兒呱呱落地後，就渴望被愛撫、被擁抱；不僅嬰兒需要擁抱，成年人或老年人也同樣需要擁抱。

對歷盡人世、飽經滄桑的老年人而言，其心靈更需要透過擁抱得到滋養與撫慰。可是，有些華人老年夫婦，常言授受不親，甚至分床而眠；諸不知，愛人的擁抱能迅速傳遞情感，還有益於老年人的身心健康。

(刊登於《世界周刊》 第 1151 期 Apr. 9 ~ Apr. 15, 2006年)