The tiniest trick-or-treaters in North Texas are spending Halloween in the NICU, and this year some of them are mermaids and miniature firefighters. Texas Health held a Halloween celebration for babies in its neonatal intensive care units, with care teams helping the newborns get into costume.
The effort, reported by WFAA, gives families a chance to celebrate the holiday during a hospital stay. The station describes the costumes as a moment of joy amid the demands of a NICU stay, and as a reflection of the compassion and creativity of the teams caring for newborns and supporting their families.
Hospitals Across Dallas-Fort Worth Joined In
Participating hospitals include Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Texas Health Hospital Rockwall and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas also took part, as did the Presbyterian hospitals in Denton and Plano.
A separate photo gallery from CBS News Texas captioned one image “All smiles at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital.” Its pictures also include babies from the Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Presbyterian Dallas hospitals, along with one dressed as Captain America at the Fort Worth campus, captioned “Captain America here to save the day with cuteness!”
Keepsake Photos for Parents
The point of the costumes is partly about the camera. A WFAA photo gallery says nurses at several hospitals within the Texas Health Resources network created unique costumes, intended “to provide parents keepsake photos of their newborns' first Halloweens.”
The Texas Hospital Association says hospitals across the Texas Health system bring “some normalcy and joy” to families by providing fun and creative costumes. The association adds that such celebrations showcase hospitals' dedication to supporting patients' emotional well-being. It also points to a 2006 Journal of Advanced Nursing study that found positive emotional experiences in the hospital were linked to less stress and improved recovery outcomes, though nothing in the reporting ties that finding to this year's event.
A North Texas Tradition
Texas Health is not the only system dressing up its smallest patients. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported in 2020 that up to 80 NICU babies at Parkland Memorial Hospital would celebrate with handmade costumes, including Candy Corn, Elvis Presley and Ninja Turtles. The same report said a NICU nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Plano hand-knitted costumes for each baby there.
According to FOX 4 News, babies in the NICUs at Methodist, Parkland and Baylor Scott & White hospitals have also marked their first Halloween in outfits made especially for them. Methodist Hospital even dressed some of its tiniest patients as doctors, nurses, police officers and firefighters.
The practice reaches beyond the metroplex. This Is Alabama reports that nurses in the Children's of Alabama NICU provide costumes each year to help families have a sense of normalcy. This year, the nurses matched the costumes to each patient's personality, and some parents helped choose them.
