April 22, 2025
Loveland, son of Darby Ewashina and Micah DeHenau, wears a flannel heart — a bonding cloth created by Heart Scents and volunteers — that helps newborns to thrive through the power of their parents’ scent. Photo by Leah Hennel.
Darby Ewashina and Micah DeHenau look at their newborn son Loveland in the NICU at Rockyview General Hospital on March 28. Loveland is pictured with a flannel heart sewn for him by volunteers as part of the Heart Scents program. Photo by Leah Hennel.
Heart Scents founder Leah Cathleen, left, and Adriana Hirschfeld, 17, help make flannel hearts at the Calgary Girl Guides workshop, to give to parents with babies in the NICU. Photo by Leah Hennel.
Story by Blain Fairbairn | Photos by Leah Hennel
CALGARY — A community-driven program in Calgary is giving parents with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) a unique opportunity to help their newborns thrive through the power of scent.
Heart Scents is a local organization that works with volunteers to sew heart-shaped flannel bonding cloths. Founder Leah Cathleen explains the initiative is all about building bonds — between parents and babies, and the community.
“They’re little flannel hearts used by parents with a baby in the NICU,” says Heart Scents founder Leah Cathleen.
“Parents wear them next to their skin and when they can’t be there, they leave them with baby for scent bonding. It’s just gives them a little bit of comfort in a really high-stress time.”
According to multiple studies, that little bit of comfort can also have big benefits for the baby’s development.
Dr. Jennifer Unrau is a neonatologist and NICU site lead at the Rockyview General Hospital. She says the science behind scent bonding not only helps babies feel at ease through a familiar scent, but it can also improve feeding and neurological development.
“The neuro pathways exist for them to recognize familiar scents starting from the time they’re about 28 weeks gestation,” she says. “We try to create positive sensory experiences to help improve their neuro development and Heart Scents contributes to that.”
Unrau notes there are studies looking at how babies gain weight and develop better feeding cues through exposure to a familiar scent like a mother’s breast milk. But the benefits don’t just apply to babies.
“We also know that activities that allow parents to be close to their baby and involved in their care can help improve their confidence in feeling more comfortable taking on the role as the baby’s main care provider,” she adds. “And for moms, having the scent of their baby on the cloth when they go home to pump can also help with breast milk production.”
Calgary parents Darby Ewashina and Micah DeHenau welcomed their first child, son Loveland, sooner than expected on March 23. Despite the surprise and uncertainty of a premature birth and a stay in the NICU, Heart Scents has had a profound impact on their experience.
“After giving birth and being discharged, I wasn’t pregnant anymore, but I didn’t have my son — and so having that flannel heart next to mine made me feel like, ‘oh, he’s still with us,’” Ewashina says.
“I don’t know that there’s another way people could connect with their kid in such an intimate way — it’s close to the heart, it’s in the shape of a heart, it’s coming from amazing volunteers. I couldn’t dream up a better way.”
Loveland’s dad, Micha, says the Heart Scents program has been helpful in easing the stress of having a newborn in hospital.
“When you’re getting ready for your first kid to come you have this plan in your mind, a vision for how it’s going to work,” he says. “The Heart Scents program is a cool thing to keep a connection when you have to leave your kid.
“It’s a lovely part of a tough experience.”
Find out more about Heart Scents and how to get involved through a workshop, or download the sewing instructions.
