Nurturing Infant Sensory Development: Insights from Bobbi Pineda

In this episode, Mary Coughlin speaks with Bobbi Pineda, an expert in infant sensory development and an occupational therapist. Bobbi shares her journey from practicing as a clinician in pediatric settings to becoming a researcher focused on NICU care and the sensory needs of infants. She discusses her personal experiences as a mother of premature babies, which inspired her to delve into research to improve NICU practices. Bobbi highlights the importance of a sensory-rich environment for infants and the development of the SENSE program to guide parents in supporting their babies' development. The episode underscores the significance of humility and openness in advancing NICU care and the profound impact of integrating evidence-based practices in nurturing infant development.   00:00 Introduction to Bobbi Pineda 00:51 Bobbi's Early Career and Personal Journey 02:30 Transition to Research and PhD Journey 05:00 NICU Research and Sensory Development 07:39 The SENSE Program 24:37 Global Impact and Future Directions 26:25 Reflections on Caring Out Loud 33:38 Final Thoughts and Wisdom Bobbi's BIO: Bobbi Pineda is an Associate Professor in the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and was a key developer of the SENSE program,  https://chan.usc.edu/nicu/sense, which is now a trademarked intervention to support families in providing daily positive sensory exposures to their infants in the NICU.  The SENSE program is being implemented and studied by more than 500 hospitals across the world, and Dr. Pineda has funding from NIH to further evaluate the role of the SENSE program and the sensory exposures in it on the developing brain. Bobbi Pineda served in NICU OT clinical roles from 1992-2006, where she gained expertise with early therapy to fragile infants. The premature birth of her first child, in addition to her ongoing interest in learning, motivated her to pursue her PhD, which she completed at University of Florida in 2006. She then spent 14 years at Washington University exploring factors that can impact the lives of high-risk infants and families. She joined University of Southern California's faculty in 2020 and continues her research within the NICU Therapy Lab. Her research largely aims to understand modifiable factors within the NICU environment that can improve outcomes. Targets are the early sensory environment, early therapy service delivery, and early oral feeding. She is also author of the Neonatal Eating Outcome Assessment https://chan.usc.edu/nicu/neonatal-eating-outcome-assessment. She has authored more than 70 peer reviewed publications on high risk infants and families in the NICU, and engages in innovation with the development of a new bottle system called the Preemie Pacer in addition to serving as an inaugural member of the Neonatal Therapy National Certification Board.