No Child Alone: The Need for Compassionate Care in Hospitals

The Reality of Hospitalized Children in Spain

The latest episode featuring Majo Gimeno and her initiative, Mamás en Acción, has profoundly impacted me.

Every week, I look forward to the notification for the podcast Madres reinventadas from Mamis Digitales. I dedicate those brief 40 minutes to listen while engaging in some relaxing activity. It’s my special time!

The topics discussed are diverse and timely, yet they all share a common thread: women who, after becoming mothers, have chosen to participate in the revolution of reinvention to balance their lives and dedicate the time they desire to the upbringing of their children.

A Place We Never Want to Be

Unfortunately, many of us are aware of babies, children, teenagers, or young adults who have been hospitalized due to various degrees of illness. As parents, we can hardly bear to imagine being in such a situation.

We think of these children and their families, considering how illness disrupts everything as if a hurricane has swept through their lives.

In these circumstances, we often focus on the illness and its recovery, holding onto the hope that life will return to the normalcy we once knew. But what about the fear, uncertainty, and loneliness that these children experience during their ordeal?

It is already difficult to accept that in certain hospitals, children cannot be accompanied in the ICU or during the numerous tests they must undergo alone, guided only by medical staff who, while providing exceptional support, are ultimately just doing their jobs.

What Happens to Hospitalized Children Without Families?

According to data from the Observatorio de la Infancia, over 50,000 children in Spain do not have parents or cannot live with them. These children are under the guardianship of authorities and do not have the assurance of an adult's presence during hospital stays or when dealing with chronic illnesses that require frequent admissions.

A chill runs through my body as I write this.

In 2018, Dr. Mínguez, head of the pediatric hospitalization area at the Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe in Valencia, where the Mamás en Acción initiative began, demonstrated alongside his team that the efforts of these selfless mothers, who provide love and companionship 24 hours a day to hospitalized children, significantly improve recovery outcomes. They also noted that children who are victims of abuse do not develop aggressive patterns associated with their trauma, and the support provided by this nonprofit organization aids medical staff, reducing the time and resources spent on treating children who are alone.

This is not a promotional piece; these are the thoughts that have resonated within me as a mother since I listened to the podcast detailing how this initiative was born. It has made considerable progress but still requires more efforts to reach additional hospitals.

Since then, when one of my children calls for me in the middle of the night or crawls into bed seeking comfort from fear or a simple hug, I am transported to one of those empty hospital rooms where children are alone. That feeling has compelled me to share this message and ask:

How much love and attention do you think a hospitalized child needs?

How much love are you capable of sharing?

If something stirs within you, whether you are a parent or not, I believe that you have much to gain.